Examination: Void
by AmethystRibbonKnight
Summary: What were to happen if characters from Under Night and Persona once again crossed paths? What if they cross paths with a Grim Reaper in his world? What were to happen if two are kidnapped by a mad puppeteer scientist? Well, this is that tale, of two worlds falling into one and unexpected results of human experimentation. The second genre will be massive later in the story.
1. Chapter 1: Snake Trap

Examination: Void

Summary: What were to happen if characters from Under Night and Persona once again crossed paths? What if they cross paths with a Grim Reaper in his world? What were to happen if two are kidnapped by a mad puppeteer scientist? Well, this is that tale, of two worlds falling into one and unexpected results of human experimentation.

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Author's Note: just for the record, I'm not familiar with Under Night and Persona besides what is shown in Cross Tag Battle. So bear with me for any inaccuracies. I have done some fandom wiki reading. So apologies in advance for any game inaccuracies and OOCness. ( I just fell in love with Hyde after his episode)

Now, on with the story!

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Chapter 1: Snake Trap

Hyde woke up with a groan, his head aching as he found himself lying on his back on a path of grass. He opened his eyes to see a night sky through the gaps of a forest treeline. After a few seconds he jumped up as he looked around.

"Where?" Hyde heard another groan and found Linne also lying on the grass. She seemed to have just woken up. He walked over to her and helped her sit up.

"Linne, are you alright?" Hyde asked, Linne looked at him for second, well this was certainly deja vu.

"I'm fine Hyde, where are we?" Linne asked as she looked around the forest they seemed to have fallen in.

"I have no idea, one moment we were at home. Next thing, we're here." Hyde said, he was still confused. As much as he experienced teleportation quite a bit a while ago, it was still weird.

"Well this certainly feels familiar. do you think something made another Phantom Field?" Linne asked, Hyde rubbed the back of his head.

"That would seem like the reasonable answer but, it doesn't seem to fit. I mean, everything here is vastly less artificial than in the phantom field." Hyde said.

"I agree, things here, seem natural. If it was a phantom field, things would look and feel more off, unless we're dealing with a being stronger than System." Linne said as she picked up a leaf.

"Ack! do you think Vatista or Old Man are also here?" Hyde asked as he looked around.

"How am I suppose to know that?" Linne asked as she dropped the leaf. She heard rustling among the trees.

"My, my, what do we have here?" Hyde and Linne jumped to their guards as the voice spoke among the trees. Each of them drawing their weapon.

"Now, now, no need to be so defensive, I just want to have a talk with you kids." A figure emerged from the trees, he was a tall and slender man in a black and white dress suit. The Black jacket was unbuttoned and a black tie was around his neck. What stood out was his neon green hair, which he hid under a black fedora and had small, fingerless leather gloves on his hands.

"It should be fine, if this is a phantom field, he can't fight is without a partner." Linne said as she readied her blades. The figure smiled.

"Oh? I'm afraid this is no phantom field like that System sent us too. I don't think old Raggy mentioned me, did he? " the figure asked with a relaxed, but taunting kind of tone. This figure made them feel all sorts of danger.

"Raggy? You mean Ragna the Bloodedge? We're in his world?" Hyde asked, considering their duel back in the Phantom Field, Ragna was a force to be reckoned with, and based on the other opponents they faced from his world, they can't take this lightly.

"Indeed, I take he didn't mention me. Very well, my name is Hazama. I'm an intelligence officer, however a few 'allies' of mine have an interest in the world I was sent to, and the people who I met along the way. Can you believe the chance of me stumbling into you two? My partner as of now, is quite interested in that sword of yours." Hazama said, glancing at the red blade in Hyde's hands. Hyde instinctively held it tighter.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not letting you handle this thing." Hyde said, Linne could feel the hostility coming off of Hazama, despite the relaxed attitude and body posture it suggested.

"Oh no worries, I won't be handling it, for long anyway." Hazama snapped his fingers and before any of them could react. Green chains with a snakehead shot out and immediately wrapped around Hyde. The chains moved and bound his arms in a way his hands were facing in opposite directions of each other and pinned his arms to his sides as the chains wrapped around his chest. Insulator fell to the ground as the two tried to comprehend what just happened.

"Wha- What the hell?! " Hyde immediately started to struggle and loosen the chains, only for the snake head to hiss as the chains tightened. He nearly fell over as the chains moved.

"My partner wishes to study your power, this void. I told him I would bring him a live specimen to examine." Hamaza cracked open his eyes and Linne saw unnatural glowing yellow reptilian eyes.

"There are no rules binding this world. I have no need to hold back." Linne said, the hostility practically radiating off of her. Hyde gulped as she readied No Name and Nameless, before he could say anything, she ran and attacked Hazama.

She ran and swung her blades at him, no matter how quick or precise she did them, he always sidestepped and dodged her attacks, all the while holding his fedora to make sure it doesn't fall off his head. Her anger increased due to his mockery like behavior. Hazama smiled as she saw a flash of metal and her smaller blade was blocked by a shiny engraved butterfly knife. A hand still on his fedora.

"Aren't you a feisty one, for a child." Hazama said smirking, Linne growled and launched at him again.

Meanwhile, Hyde was trying to wiggle out of his binds, lucky for him, his legs were not bound, so as long as he could stay upright, he can move. He leaned up against a free so he wouldn't fall over and tried to loosen the chains. However the seemingly sentient snake trapping him refused to yield.

"Freaking, snakes..." Hyde grunted as he decided to sit down and maneuver Insulator with his feet. If he could stab the snakehead, that should loosen the chains enough to free him. However, trying to move a large katana with only your feet, which are in shoes, and stab a small snake head was harder than it looked. Hyde tried to grab the sword between his feet, but it slipped out easily. Hyde groaned in annoyance as his attempts failed.

Linne blocked a stroke from Hazama, who twirled his blade with a smile.

"I must say, for someone so small, you are quite skilled. However, I am a busy man, I'm afraid I must cut this short." Hazama said, suddenly a burst of green energy shot out and hit Linne in the chest, punching the air out of her lungs and causing her to fly back, and off a ledge.

" LINNE! " Hyde yelled as he got up, abandoning his attempt at undoing the chains and tried to run to where Linne vanished. He was stopped as Hazama grabbed him by his collar and the chains tightened even more.

"Now, now, for someone like her, there's a possibility she is still alive. For now though, I need to make a delivery, and I like my peace and quiet." Hazama grinned as he tossed Hyde to the ground and pulled out a white cloth.

"What are you doing? " Hyde asked as he tried to get up from his position. Hazama hoisted him up and forced him down. He shoved the cloth into Hyde's mouth and tied it around his head to gag him.

"Keeping you quiet, but I'm not cruel as to let you miss the scenery as we travel." Hazama grinned, his moved his hand the chains extended to bind his legs as well. Now Hyde was silenced and immobilized. Hazama picked up Insulator, which pulsed violently at the foreign wielder. Hazama smirked and the sword vanished within a magic circle. Hazama grabbed Hyde and hoisted him over his shoulder so Hyde was facing behind him.

"Hrmmgmm! Ygdmmmgff Bfffmph." Hyde mumbled through his gag , Hazama smiled as they walked, enjoying the struggles of the helpless boy.

"I'm curious myself, Void? Relius will owe me a lot for catching this big a fish." Hazama thought with a hum as they traversed the forest.

Elsewhere...

Linne lied unconscious on the ground, the place further down from where she fell. Her clothes were ragged from the fight and presumed tumble down the hill.

"My word, what do we have here?" A small figure in a beautiful dress looked over her.

"How curious, looks like I'll finally have a talk with another immortal. Gii, tell Valkenhein to prepare some tea."

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**And that's chapter, hope you enjoyed. Just FYI, this is pretty much a 'blind' fanfic, and by blind, I mean I have very little knowledge on both Persona and Under Night: In-Birth outside of Cross Tag Battle. But, I already love Hyde as a character (and like all my favorite characters in anything) and so I will be putting him in detrimental situations, such as what's going to happen in this story. I won't be as 'lore-accurate' as I am with my other stories, but I will try to keep it accurate enough so it doesn't spiral down in utter ridiculousness and/or become a crack-fic. Blazblue is confusing a bit at a lore aspect and I'll try to stay accurate to Blazblue lore mostly. As for DCL characters, from Under Night, I'll probably only include Yuzu since she was/is close to Hyde. Persona, I can't make any promises. Anyway, that was very long and filled with disclaimers, but I hope you enjoyed. Any reviews, advice, or constructive criticism will be highly appreciated. **

**Have a good day and I'll see you next time (whenever that may be) **

**Bye :) **


	2. Chapter 2: Persona or Puppet?

Chapter 2: Persona or Puppet?

"NAOTO!"

"SHIROGANE!"

"NAOTO-KUN!"

Several voices echoed through the forest as a group of teens traversed the area of which they entered similarly to another event few months ago. Picked from their original location and dropped here.

"Where is she?" Chie sighed as they looked through the forest. All of them were there, except for the detective prince.

"Do you really think she's here? If this was like the field a while ago, why was she stuck here longer than us?" Yukiko wondered as they ran through the forest.

"Regardless of her being sent here, we need to find her if she's injured. This place is crazy!" Yosuke said as he nearly tripped over a tree root.

"We haven't met anyone out here. I'm not surprised, but I feel like someone is here." Yu said, eyes scanning the forest. It wasn't dense, but the trees were thick and wide.

"Naoto! " Kanji yelled , only for his voice to die out through the forest.

"We'll find her, don't worry big guy." Yosuke said, patting his shoulder.

"If this was the phantom field, we should've met someone by now." Yukiko said, Yosuke was behind her and Chie, with Kanji infront and behind Yu.

"Did you guys hear something?" Yosuke asked, they all stopped to listen but heard nothing.

"No, please stop messing around." Chie said, a rustling was heard in the bushes.

"DUCK!" Yukiko and Chie were shoved to the ground as something flew past them. Their topple was strong enough to knock down Kanji as well and Yu turned around in alarm.

"Yosuke! What in the world was that-" Chie's complaint died in her throat as she saw what has happened.

A giant magenta colored, female looking, puppet towered over them. It looked like a persona, it's arms were massive. Yosuke was where they stood, but he was dangling a few feet above the ground as giant metal claws gripped tightly around his chest. Yosuke grunting as he pulled on them.

"A persona?" Yukiko and Chie scramble further away to get a better view and plan.

" Hey! Let go of Hanamura!" Kanji yelled as he tossed the chair he was always carrying st the giant puppet. It didnt even flinch.

"Urg... Persona: Jiraiya!" Yosuke yelled, much to the surprise of all of them, the massive ninja-eqsue persona materialized before them, and hit the marionette. The grip loosened enough for Yosuke to wriggle out and fall to the ground. However, a bolt of energy shot out of the trees and hit the persona. Jiraiya froze before dematerializing. The puppet looked for a few seconds, before focusing on Yosuke again. It shot out and instead aimed itself at Chie, who, Yosuke shoved out of the way and once again ended up being choked by a giant puppet like robot thing.

"You don't always have to cover me y'know!" Chie yelled as she fell to the ground again.

"Would _you _rather be choked by a giant robot?" Yosuke strained out as the claws tightened.

"Hang in there partner." Yu ran up with his katana in hand, and summoning his persons. As he made a swing at the puppet, a flash of purple appeared and his katana was repelled by a flash of gold. a bolt of electricity and his persona flickered away as well.

"Interesting, so that was the 'Personas' that he mentioned. Interesting, I take each of you have these so-called Personas. Just like the other girl. " the figure that spoke wore a magenta colored get up with a mask, he seemed about middle age and wore white gloves. He shoved Yu back and made him stumble. His last line caught Kanji's attention.

"'Other girl'... What have you done with Naoto?!" Kanji demanded, getting his fists ready to attack.

"Oh? You know her? Do not worry about her, but I am afraid I have to cut this visit short. I have some tests to run, and my associate has an interest in his 'former tag partner ' as he called it." The figure said, Yosuke froze momentarily.

"The green haired man..." Yosuke mumbled, the line barely audible to Yu.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" the figure dodged as a massive blast of red and black energy shot across them in a wave. The puppet jumped away and still held onto Yosuke.

"Huh?! RANGA-SAN?!" Chie yelled as the red clad man ran up to the masked stranger .

"What the hell are you doing Relius?!" Ragna yelled as he swung at him. The puppeteer just smiled.

"Nothing that would concern you Grim Reaper, just an errand run." Relius said, with that circles appeared under him, the puppet and Yosuke. As Ragna shot his energy, the three of them vanished in a flash of light.

"Fuckin' hell. That damn bastard." Ragna cursed.

"RAGNA-SAN!?" Yukiko yelled in surprise.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here?" Ragna asked.

"We don't know. It's just like the Phantom Field. What about you?" Yu asked, considering last time, this had to be a phantom field as well.

"Ha? This is my world, the one I was born and grew up in. And as you saw, i have to deal with crazy bastards all the time." Ragna growled.

"Who was that? Why would they take Yosuke? He wasn't in the field with us." Yukiko said.

"Who fuckin' knows what's going on in his head. Who the hell did he tag with back there? Cause that would help us track them down." Ragna said, Yu perked up.

"Yosuke said...'the green haired man?'" Yu said, Ragna tensed up and actually growled. It was inhuman.

"That fucking bastard." Ragna seethed, the anger was flowing off of him in waves.

"Who is it?" Yukiko asked warily.

"It's Hazama, that fucker! We need to find him quick." Ragna said, he grabbed Yu and began to drag him.

"Hey! Where're you taking him?!" Chie called as the others chased after him.

"Follow the leader. I'm taking you guys to someone I know. If we don't, assume your friend is dead." Ragna said, the others didn't like that thought and ran after them.

"What about Naoto? She was taken here too, he said he has her!" Kanji yelled.

"As in Naoto the detective? The girl who dressed like a boy?" Ragna asked.

" Um, yes, how did you? " Ragna glanced at them, silencing Yukiko's question.

"I'll explain later. A friend of mine has been trying to gather info on that puppet bastard's activities. when did she go missing?" Ragna asked, still not letting go of Yu.

"About a month ago. We looked in everything." Chie said.

"Damn that bastard." Ragna seethed.

"What is it?" Yu looked at Ragna and felt a similar anger radiating off of him as they did when they found their first tv ' killer'.

"According to my friend, honestly, acquaintance would be more accurate. They recently picked up files and the bastard started some kind of project. He called it Project: Grim Heart. I have no idea why the strange names. They'll explain more, so lets get moving. For all we know, she's his test subject in that experiment." Ragna said.

Elsewhere...

Linne groaned as she woke up. She found herself under the soft covers of a royal bed. Despite it felt like she slept for hours, the moon was still bright in the sky.

"I see you're awake Ms. Linne." Linne jumped a bit and nearly fell out of the bed, she looked to see an older man. He wore a dark green formal suit with his long silver hair tied in a low tail.

"My name is Valkenhayn R. Hellsing. I am the bulter for the Alucard castle, Rachel Alucard is waiting for you in the garden. I'll be waiting for you outside the door for when you are ready, I have prepared clothing for you." The butler said as he briskly closed the elegant doors. Linne got out of the bed and found herself wearing a simple black nightgown. Her wounds have also been healed. She walked over to see a chair with a fluffy black lolita dress with red rose patterns and white flowers.

Linne sighed, momentarily frowning at the dress. However, her worry for Hyde was greater. If she had answers, then she's going to get all of them out of her.

Later...

Linne opened the door gently as her loose black sleeves glided in the faint wind. Valkenhayn was there waiting for her.

"Madam Rachel is in the garden, I will escort you." Valkenhayn said as he began to walk. They walked in silence as Linne took note of the large mansion like castle. the large windows let in so much moonlight it was like a sunny day. They soon approached a large pair of double doors. Once Valkenhayn opened them, Linne saw a large garden, practically made of a rose flower bed. The walls were high but low enough to get a full view of the night sky. In the center was a pretty white tea table, the familiar vampire sat on a chair at the table. Linne carefully made her way to the vampire. As she sat down, Valkenhayn walked up and poured each of them a cup of tea.

"Now then, I'm certain you have just as many, or even more questions than I do. Is that a fair assumption?" Rachel asked, Linne just looked at her. She didn't seem threatening right now, but she definitely has this powerful feeling around her. She didn't have your weapons and she was stuck in a very impractical dress, how does the vampire fight in these. She really didn't have a choice here.

"Yes." Linne finally said, Rachel looked at her with an interested look.

"Good, it's been awhile since I spoke with another immortal."

**Chapter 3: A Discussion Among Immortals**

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_Ugh..._

_Help..._

_Please..._

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**Yeah, short and probably a bit choppy. The next chapter will be more interesting and more consistently written. Just as a heads up, this will be more of a Under Night x Blazblue story. Persona plays a role that I don't want to toss and so I'm sticking with it. The summary said two, but thats in the case that Naoto was already missing prior to the events of the story. Everything will be explained in the next chapter and chapter 4 and 5. I have been studying the Under Night Wikipedia to see if my plot could fit logically with the elements. I'm getting pretty excited for this so the next one might be up in a few days. I'll see you guys in the next chapter and any feedback will be highly appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3: A Discussion Among Immortals

Chapter 3: A Discussion Among Immortals

Linne sat in front of Rachel, eyeing her suspiciously. Where was she? Where were Hyde and her sent? How did they get here? How did someone know of Hyde's EXS?

"Now then, considering you are my guest, it's only courtesy to let you ask first." Rachel said, taking a sip of her tea. Linne gulped a bit.

"Where am I?" Linne asked.

"You are in the walls of Alucard Castle, an estate given to me by my father. Here is a pocket dimension, one that is in all the nights all over the world and hidden. Or otherwise known as existing, but also nonexisiting. No one can harm you, or us here." Rachel said, Linne tried to keep her shock to herself. She was in a limbo like area, with no weapons, in a silly dress, before a being that is very powerful.

"Now for mine. What is it that you recall before being sent here?" Rachel asked.

"I was, helping Hyde finish some chores before we just, blacked out." Linne said.

_"Linne, can you get the plates?" Hyde asked from his position at the sink. Linne nodded snd carried over the dishes from the table. _

_Later..._

_Linne walked toward her room and saw Hyde's door open, she glanced and saw Hyde working on homework with a yawn. His desk lamp on with a messy pile of books, paper, and notebooks. _

_"Are you alright Hyde?" Linne asked. _

_" I'm fine, just finishing something up so I can sleep in." Hyde said. _

_"I'll see you in the morning then." Linne said as she left the doorway. _

_"Good Night Linne." Hyde said with a yawn. _

_As Linne walked by the window, she saw a bright light from the moon and blacked out. _

"That's what I remember." Linne said, Rachel looked at her curiously and took another sip of tea.

"I suggest you drink your tea, it would be an awful waste if it got cold." Rachel said, Linne reeled a bit at the phrase, but took a sip anyway. It wss delicious to say the least, it had a fruity, but cinnamon warm taste to it.

"Now then, what is your next question?" Rachel asked.

"Where did Hyde and myself land?" Linne asked, Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Hyde Kido was with you? Well, to answer, you're in a reality of the world in the year 2200. The world was savaged by a black beast decades ago before being killed by six heroes, however, genes and fragments of the beast were extracted from its corpse, which underwent several experiments. That is the premise of my world." Rachel explained, Linne took a double take as the realization that not only is she in a different reality, but the future as well.

"Now then, please tell me about Hyde Kido, and his weapon, the Insulator." Rachel said, Linne stiffened a bit. Not sure if that was information she wanted to share. However, Rachel was her only hope of finding him at this point.

"Hyde was just the unlucky kid to get caught in a Void attack. I managed to save him, but he still got bitten. He became an In-birth, a being able to wield supernatural powers, his power is know as EXS. His specifically called Void Red, a purer form of EXS that is very powerful. Possessing Void Red allows him to summon the Insulator, one of the two weapons that can kill immortals. " Linne said, she gave more than she thought she would. Rachel's interested expression did not help her.

"How interesting, it sounds like he's got an Event Weapon, commonly known as a Nox Nyctores. That's how they're known in this world. Long ago weapons called Nox Nyctores were forged with souls and the core was a fragment of the Black Beast itself. They were extremely powerful and only ten exist. However, I have heard rumors of an eleventh being created. They're known to have a toll on the soul. The weapons have a mind of their own and try to protect their user, however lock away emotions they deem useless in a fight. They are powerful and require both exceptional magic skill and mental strength." Rachel explained.

"Do you know where Hyde was taken?" Linne asked, again Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"I'm afraid not. I did not know that Hyde Kido was present with you when I found you. You were all torn and unconscious. Now for my next question, what happened to you? I generally wouldn't care for such things, but the idea that Hyde Kido somehow managed to something similar to a Nox Nyctores interests me." Rachel said.

"After waking up in the forest, we were attacked by a man named Hazama. He took Hyde after I wss launched off the cliff." Linne explained.

"Terumi..." Rachel mumbled, Linne perked up at the name as Valkenhayn walked forward.

"Ms. Linne, did Hazama reveal what his plans were?" Valkenhayn asked.

" Briefly, if you could call it that. He said a partner of his was interesting in Insulator. And, said he would bring them a live specimen. " Linne shuttered at the phrase.

"Relius..." Valkenhayn hissed, Linne looked confused, and her concern grew more and more.

"I'm afraid we must cut our conversation here short." Rachel said as she placed down her teacup.

"Why?" Linne asked, she was concerned, their reactions, and considering their power level, whoever Hyde was being taken to cannot be good.

"Relius, was a former partner of mine. We were once part of a group called 'Immortal Breakers' as the name suggest, we were created to kill immortal beings. After Rachel's father, Clavis Alucard offered me to become the bulter, I accepted. That was the last I saw of Relius for years. However, recent years I have learned of his projects." Valkenhayn explained, Linne felt her heart stop at the last word and dread filled her mind.

"I'll explain the rest to her. Go gather her equipment and be ready to send her off. " Rachel said, Valkenhayn complied and left the garden.

"Now, I'm afraid this is an urgent matter. Relius Clover is an empty man, devoid of his emotions and only seeks to experiment. His lack of empathy went to the extent of turning his wife and daughter into inorganic dollish puppets. His young son would have been turned into the same if he didn't escape when he did. He is responsible for several experiments hiding under the surface and one of the scientists who worked on the Murakumo Units. If we don't find Hyde Kido soon, we might be too late to save him." Rachel said, Valkenhayn quickly walked back, with Linne's weapons and her signature orange hoodie and shorts.

"We cannot waste time here. Hold my hand and I'll take you to someone who can help." Valkenhayn said, Linne got up, leaving a half empty teacup and grabbed Valkenhayn's hand. The two quickly vanished in a whirl of rose petals.

"I didn't expect the Princess to be so concerned." Gii said, only to get clocked on the head by Rachel's small fist.

"This matter is urgent, when we battled Hyde Kido in the phantom field, an unusual energy emitted from thst sword, Insulator. It wasn't different in the fact that it was from a different world, it felt more like a different energy, but similar to here." Rachel said, she looked at the empty seat, she hoped to have talked with Linne more, but the matter at hand was more important.

"His energy reminds me of Ragna's to an extent. He seems more naive than him though, I'm not surprised, Ragna is a man while Hyde Kido is a mere child. If Relius finds out about his abilities, he may try to use him as a weapon, or turn him into a Murakumo Unit. Just like Ragna, he wss forced with powers he never intended on having. Ragna was special case to save his life while his was merely bad luck. If he indeed has summoned something akin to a Nox Nyctores, our luck may run out and Hyde Kido's life will be cut short." Rachel said.

Elsewhere...

Valkenhayn and Linne landed in a flash of light on tile like floors. Linne was a little dizzy from the teleport, that's how Hyde felt she guessed when he was transported by Es.

"Half-pint?" Linne looked up in response the deep voice and saw Ragna the Bloodedge, along with another group she fought in the phantom field. She also saw a woman with light pink hair in some sort of white coat with a lollipop in her mouth.

"I've brought Ms. Linne here for help, her partner Hyde Kido has been abducted by Hazama, about eight days ago now." Valkenhayn said, wait, what? Linne did not know if her time table was off now.

"It's been how long?" Linne asked.

"You've been at the castle for two days, time in the castle moves four times slower than reality, thus one day there is four days here." Valkenhayn explained as he gave back her gear.

"Professor Kokonoe, Madam Rachel requests you examine this." Valkenhayn tosses a small vial of swirling red and black energy to the pink haired woman.

"Will do, alright, that makes three people we need to save." Kokonoe sighed.

"I..." Linne glanced at the others in the room. Two others were taken? Based on the people here, no doubt the ones taken were their friends. She can't believe it's been over a week now, Hyde is probably with that madman they discussed earlier. She needs an explanation fast, an operation fast, and a scheduled rescue mission fast. She wss already aware of Hyde being hunted by Amnesia, that alone made her worry. Now this? Not only is Hyde in danger, but the Insulator was also taken. Hyde is the on!y one able to summon it, if that man attempts to use Insulator, she can only imagine the horrible things they might do to Hyde to get their answers.

"Don't worry half-pint, Kokonoe and I can explain." Ragna said.

"Please don't call me half-pint. Its Linne. "

Seven days earlier...

Hazama sighed as he watched the sunrise. He has been traveling all night.

"You know, I'm not surprised I'm not tired, but you, I'm amazed, for a child I figured you'd have passed out max a few hours ago. Yet you are still thrashing around like a dying fish." Hazama said as he removed Hyde from his shoulder and plopped him down near a tree. Hyde grunted and then growled at Hazama through his gag.

"I'll let us break here for now, we'll be getting back to my partner by sundown. Oh will he be happy to see you." Hazama walked over and removed his gag, which Hyde took the chance to try and bite his fingers.

"My, my, don't be so rude. Don't want your mouth to be too dry." Hazama said in a semi-insulted tone.

"Where are you taking me?" Hyde asked as he wriggled in his binds. Since Hazama locked Insulator away somewhere, he couldn't summon it for some reason. Linne was injured somewhere in the forest and he has no idea if anyone else he knows is here. Not to mention tied up in a way that it prevented him from using his EXS abilities. To say he was terrified would be an understatement. Especially when he is taken by an extremely shady man who seems to enjoy this.

"I already explained, to my current partner. He is rather interesting in the people I met at the phantom field. Especially you my dear boy, he has several questions for what you are. Now then, your sword, Insulator was it? Its surprisingly familiar to something we call Nox Nyctores here. I have to ask, how did you obtain such a weapon?" Hazama asked.

"Like I would tell you." Hyde said as he turned his head. Hazama sighed and walked up. He grabbed Hyde's chin and forced him to face him.

"Your eyes, are also unique Kido. Reminds me of a demi-human. Like a feline of some sort. That red color reminds me of something as well. I would be lying if I said I would hunt down your friends, too much trouble honestly. You are still able to give me the information willingly." Hwzama said.

"I said I'm not telling you crap." Hyde said, yanking his head away.

"Very well, I gave you a chance to give it to me willingly." Hazama said with disappointment. He pulled out the cloth again.

"Hey! Don't you-Mpfhhfphm!" Hyde was quickly silenced again as the cloth was shoved and tied around his mouth. Hazama snapped his fingers and the snakehead moved to face him. It hissed as Hyde saw it's fangs. He felt paralyzed all of a sudden. The glowing eyes of the snake staring at him.

"Oroboros: Mind Eater." The snake launched at Hyde, jaws wide open, and his world went black.

**ANnnnnnd. That's the third installment, sheesh I am churning these things out like crazy. The reason this one was finished so quickly was due to it being half written by the time chpt 2 was posted. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, an interaction between two immortal girls was something I wanted to see. This was definitely more of an info chapter, and those are possible links between the two worlds that I noticed while reading through their wikis, but that information will be relevant (or at least semi-relevant) to the rescue operation, which, have been bouncing through my head like a kangaroo on a pogo stick. The next one will introduce some more Under Night characters. The rescue operation at the earliest will probably be chapter 6 with 4 being set in Kokonoe's base and 5 being set in Relius' lab with his prisoners. **

**Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this one, any thoughts, opinions, reviews, or critiques will be highly appreciated and motivate me more to write this story. See you guys next time and have a good day :) **


	4. Chapter 4: Meeting and Information

Chapter 4: Meeting and Information

Linne and the others walked back into lab the next morning, Kokonoe explaining that it'll be easier to give them all the info and most up to date if they wish for a quicker plan and rescue operation.

"Alright, Linne was it? You came at the right time, cause these guys also arrived and one of my agents just got me some newly inputted info on Relius." Kokonoe said as she sat in her chair by a bunch computer screens, one blue lollipop in her mouth.

"What is that info?" Yukiko asked, Kokonoe looked annoyed but sighed and opened up a file on her laptop.

"The info my agent gathered here was recently inputted a few days ago, like two or three days ago. Good news and bad news." Kokonoe scrolled through the file until they came up to a report styled page.

_**Subject 1: a girl around teenage years, blue hair and eyes, possessing what is known as a Persona. She had a lot of energy, quite intelligent and analytical. However, her involvement in Project GH has been halted after two days into, her body didn't quite suit it like I hoped and would have failed if project continued. However, she is more compatible with the new project I used her for. It was a success and no errors have been found yet. **_

_**Subject 2: a boy around teenage years, amber hair and eyes, also possessing a Persona. While his intelligence isn't as high as Subject 1, his observed combatant skills are impressive. Hazama has taken custody of subject. **_

_**Subject 3: a boy around teenage years, most likely the youngest of the three, red eyes and two toned blonde and black hair. While his intelligence is yet to be observed, he certainly has the stubbornness as Bloodedge. He is a being containing a power known as EXS or Void. The tests I performed tested his powers, he seems to wield a weapon similar to that of a Nox Nyctores. Not to mention it supposedly able to kill immortals and leave disaster in it's wake. Separate tests are being performed on the weapon to see whether or not it is akin to a Nox Nyctores. While his void energy is supposedly purer than others, the energy reminds me of the Black Beast, further information required. **_

"Looks like Relius has everything sorted out. Only thing this doesn't say is where the fuck they are. i already tested his info as well. " Kokonoe pulled open three tabs, all filled with different, but identical wavelengths.

"Valkenhayn told me what this vial this. Apparently Rachel managed to collect some Hyde Kido's energy during your duel. This one here, is Ragna's energy, from his Drive." Kokonoe pointed to the first wavelength, which had jumps and peaks, but kept a steady pattern.

"This is from the actual Black Beast, my agent managed to get me readings on the Black Beast's energy during the war when studies were conducted about the monster." Kokonoe pointed to the second wavelength, it had the same pattern, but with more chaotic jumps and plummets.

"And lastly, this is the Void Red energy Rachel collected from your duel with her." Kokonoe pointed to the last one which was the most mild out of the three, with steadier peaks. She shoved all three readings together and shadowed a green section which lined up all three.

"All of them have something in common. These energy wavelengths are specific only to the magic element inside the Black Beast. No other energy source matches up, even the energy generated from these personas." Kokonoe pulled out several more tabs and revealed that none lined up with the Black Beast energy besides Ragna's and Hyde's energy.

"What's the point of showing us this?" Linne asked, they didn't have time to 'aw' at things.

"The point is Relius may or may not have already discovered this. Ragna's ability is from the Azure Grimoire, one with almost the same energy as the Black Beast. The Black Beast is dangerous and extremely hard to kill and nearly destroyed the world during its decade long rampage. They have been searching for something to achieve Izanami's goal to reduce the world to nothing. My prediction is to find a way to recreate, revive, or become the Black Beast. If they are aware of what Hyde can do, or more importantly, a vessel of, I don't think he will survive." Kokonoe said.

"I'll be honest, I wouldn't normally have such an urgent mission underway for someone I didn't know existed. But circumstances reveal that his power may or may not spell out death for everyone in this world." Kokonoe said as she booted up more files.

"Linne, Valkenhayn explained briefly of what he knew, but tell me more about these in-births, the info would be useful in sending out a rescue mission with as little casualties as possible, and possibly what the bastard may do." Kokonoe said as she glanced at the girl.

"Well, in-births are awakened when they are bitten by a Void, a creature with insane bloodlust and animalistic. If they are able to keep their sanity during the event, they become an In-birth, people who have supernatural abilites. However, unable to keep their sanity results in turning into a Void themselves." Linne explained, Kokonoe took a breath.

"Well then, I'll say it's safe to say that one possible outcome is Relius attempting to turn Kido into a void, and considering his energy, into a Black Beast. I'm not sure why he would take the others, but a safe assumption would to turn them into puppets." Kokonoe said, Chie nearly barfed at the possibility.

"What, you mean that magenta man will try to turn our friends into that thing that attacked us?!" Chie asked in horror as she recalled Yosuke being choked by it.

"It's a high possibility, after all, that thing, Ignis, is his wife. That's what he turned her into." Kokonoe said, disgust in her voice. The remaining investigation team shuddered at the thought.

"That's, horrifying..." Yukiko mumbled.

"Yeah, and things will only get worse. My agent will be back in a few days, hopefully with info on where he took them." Kokonoe said.

"Well, if you dealt with him in the past, why can't we scout all of his labs? He must've hidden them in one of those." Kanji said, he needed to get Hanamura and Naoto out. They were both his friends, and the possibility of them literally facing a fate worse than death didn't give him comfort. Kokonoe scowled.

"If you want to breach every single NOL research facility be my guest. If you somehow not die from the numerous guards willing to take heads, you'll end up on the wanted list, possibly with a bounty close to Ragna's. By the time you find them, it'll be too late, think practical. It's the best option on forming a coherent plan before springing into action. I want this to be a rescue mission, not a suicide mission." Kokonoe said as she took Kanji's silence as an agreement and turned back to her computers. Only for the doors of the room to bust open, Kokonoe luckily made the room a lot bigger so it could hold more people.

"Hey! Put me down!"

"I'm not trying to fight! Seriously!"

The huge red form of Tager walked into the room and plopped two girls on the couch. One had dark blue hair in a dress, and the other had like reddish hair, wearing a red tanktop and jeans.

"Apologies for the rough handling. I sensed powerful energy and was just taking precautions." Tager said as he pushed up his glasses. Linne recognized the two girls.

"Orie? Yuzuriha?" Linne asked, she looked at the two girls, both whom Hyde was good friends with. How did they get pulled into here? She could understand Orie since she was in the Phantom Field, but, Yuzuriha she did not know.

"O-Oh, Linne, it looks like we were not the only ones pulled in here." Orie said, slightly nervous as she glanced around.

"Ah, so your Linne. Orie told me you and your friend were rooming with Hyde. How is he doing?" Yuzuriha asked, her tone wss happy, but it seemed to have faltered once she mentioned Hyde.

"That's the current problem. The kid called Hyde Kido was abducted just over a week ago by perhaps the most disgusting person in the world." Kokonoe said, Yuzuriha jumped up in an almost panicked state.

"What?! How?! Is he alright?! Do you know where he is?!" Yuzuriha nearly clomped Kokonoe from her state.

"Calm down! No, we haven't found him, we just learned of his abduction yesterday. My agent will be returning in a few days with info on where they might be. I'll give the rundown once again, but if anyone else decides to pop in, you guys explain it." Kokonoe proceeded to inform the two girls about Hyde they have discussed earlier. To say they were concerned was an understatement.

"To beat the Princess of the Night Blade. How strong is he?" Orie asked, Linne frowned at the memory, she made it her duty to protect Hyde until he is ready, but here she failed, so easily too.

"Hazama is a long story, but his real name is Yuuki Terumi, a very dangerous person. Considering everything I just told you, Hyde's fate is literally our most important one here. Now do keep in mind I'm not doing this for 'justice' or 'out of the good of my heart' or whatever. This is the best course of action cause Relius will no doubt try to do something to Hyde that may kill the planet and everyone on it. Relius is a twisted man, and I want him dead, but I'm not going on a mission for some random kids. After the operation is done, you guys better find a way back to your own. Don't come crying to me, I'll give you shelter if I must. " Kokonoe said as she turned back to her computer. Yu sighed.

"We'll go discuss the information among ourselves and inform you of anything that may help." Yu said, him and the rest of his squad left the room.

"Hey, you don't think those bastards are going to have the military backing them do you?" A familiar voice echoed roughly. Orie and Yuzuriha turned to see Ragna enter the room.

"Ragna the Bloodedge?" Orie breathed, she immediately got into battle position.

"Not you again, look, I don't have time to fight. I don't have time to deal with you right now." Ragna said annoyed as he just walked past her without a second thought to Kokonoe.

"I highly doubt it, have to keep a clean face after all. I doubt they are even aware of the situation. My bet is that their going to keep them a secret until whatever experiment they wanted done is done. So we have the advantage of them only being them." Kokonoe said as she turned to Ragna.

"Professor Kokonoe! That's a highly dangerous man! He's the most wanted and despicable man I have heard of." Orie argued, why was the pink haired lady so calm? She kept her blade steady.

"Heard, pff, you kids really are naive. Look, Ragna is my associate. The people who put him on that wanted poster are with the same people who took your friend and is doing who knows what to him. Just because he's wanted doesn't mean jack shit. The world ain't black and white, everyone fights for a reason. Casualties, that's up to them." Kokonoe said.

"Wait, what? What do you mean by that?" Orie asked, she has calmed down, but is shaken, she gently put away her blade.

"The NOL is a regulatory military that apparently was supposed to lock away dangerous weapons. Their strict and pretty much do anything to get what they want. However, considering the person in charge now wants to destroy the world, that's what their doing, even if the dogs don't know it. Hazama is a captain in the Intelligence Department and Relius is a Colonel. Despite the difference in rank, they both answer to the Imperator." Kokonoe said.

"You don't have to explain everything Kokonoe." Ragna said, she shot him a look.

"Very well, you talk to them, I need to finish examining this info." Kokonoe said as she closed the laptop and left the room.

"Look, you can have your opinions of me however you want, but we're working together in this regardless. You guys need to save your friends, and I have a bone to pick with Terumi." Ragna said.

"Fine, but still, something about this world feels, off. I'll trust you for now Bloodedge. Hyde's life is on the line after all." Orie said as she decided to sit down again. Yuzuriha looked uncomfortably around a bit.

"I know it's strange. Yuzuriha, when did you arrive here?" Linne asked, the girl in question sighed.

"Honestly, I was going to visit Hyde the night I arrived here. Once I got to the door, I blacked out. It was around a week ago." Yuzuriha said.

"That's the same night Hyde and myself got sent here. The moment we woke up, that's when Hazama found us, and took Hyde. He said he was going to bring his partner a 'live specimen', he decided to take Hyde, it has be to be because of Insulator. " Linne said, the term making Yuzuriha shudder as well. the two sat in silence for a bit as Ragna talked with Orie and Tager in a different part of the room.

"Thanks for taking care of him." Yuzuriha said, Linne looked a little confused, that wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"I mean, thank you for looking after him when he became an In-birth. Orie explained everything to me, what Hyde was able to summon, that he is being targeted, but also that you saved him. He would've died that Night if you didn't save him. " Yuzuriha said, while the whole situation is still strange. At least she knew Hyde had some good people looking for him, even if he's in danger now, at least he knows he's not going to be left behind. She was a guardian, she wouldn't know how to handle it if she finds out Hyde was killed by a void, thst she couldn't protect her childhood friend, especially one she treated like a little brother.

"It's nothing really, Hyde helped me before, I'm simply returning the favor." Linne said, Yuzuriha smiled softly.

"Thanks anyway though." Yuzuriha said, Ragna turned back to face them.

" Alright, Kokonoe recommends we do some recon around the town. Most likely that'll lead us somewhere. She's not certain on the data whoever her agent is brings back, there's a possibility it won't lead us straight to the bastard's hideout. " Ragna said ad he turned away from Orie and Tager.

"Well, let's get going I suppose." Linne saif, pleaee Hyde, please be okay.

Elsewhere...

"This way old man!" A peppy voice called out as a young girl with a red cape ran out of the forest.

" Geez, stop calling me old man. I don't look that old. " a man with dark purple clothing stepped out of the forest after the girl.

"Never thought I'd see you make a friend so quickly." a voice teased.

"It was circumstantial. If he's with us, and he's from the same world, I hope that boy is okay though. " a quieter voice spoke.

"C'mon Blake! I got some friends who can help, they're a demi-human, like me. But they're a cat demi-human." Makoto said as she happily bound across the forest.

"In any case, I'm sure he's fine, he did save me after all. Going toe-to-toe with you and Makoto also proves his strength."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, I have a bad feeling." The man said as his purple coat fluttered in the faint breez.

"Same then. We should hurry." That feeling, something was definitely off. She can't place her finger on it.

"Let's go RWBY-GM!"

"Ruby-Gem? What's with the random phrases?" Makoto asked.

"I'll explain along the way."

**Annnd look who I decided to bring into the fray. Sorry for how weird this chapter was dialogue wise, I'm still getting used to handling multiple characters in one scene. I initially wasn't going to involve RWBY since I didn't have a solid reason for them, but as a review left by 'fernandamichelleray' I thought it over and decided to include them. I'm currently still brainstorming on their involvement, like they said, Ruby has good interactions with both Hyde and Hazama. I'm having a blast writing Hazama's dialogue, so I hope it's in character, any tips I would appreciate. Next chapter will be in Relius' lab after Hazama has returned and more character thought focus. So prediction so far is to have the rescue squad meet and plan in chpts 6-7 and start the rescue operation in 8. The rescue operation and aftermath have been bouncing in my head for days, so it should be quicker to type up. **

**Well, hope you enjoyed the chapter, any reviews, critiques, or advice I would greatly appreciate and I'll see you in the next one :) **

**Bye~ **


	5. Chapter 5: Puppeteer's Altar

Chapter 5: Puppeteer's Altar

five days earlier...

Hyde groaned as he cracked open his eyes, his vision was blurry and his head was fuzzy.

"...And, get this...A woman named Hilda... He's quite valuable in his own world now as well." The voices echoed and cut in and out as Hyde tried to refocus again.

"Oh? He's awake." Hyde heard Hazama walked up, he ruffled his hair and once Hyde got a clear enough look at Hazama's face before bolting up in alarm. He wriggled and still found himself bound in chains. He looked past him and saw an older man with blonde hair in a magenta colored outfit with a masquerade mask hiding the top half of his face. He felt a draft and looked down, all he was in was a white experimental gown. He wss stripped of everything else except his boxers.

"Glad to see you up Hyde Kido. Hazama has told me many things about you now." Relius said, his smile made Hyde feel very uncomfortable at the moment. He tipped Hyde's head up with a hand under his chin.

"Get your hands off me." Hyde said as he jerked his head away, that's the second time a creep touched his face.

"You are in no position to make demands. Protector of the Indulgence of Insolation. Partner with Linne, the Princess of the Night Blade, her guardian Waldstein, housing an interesting automation named Vatista, and is wanted by the organization named Amnesia lead by a woman named Hilda." Relius recited, Hyde froze, how did he?

"Oh Hyde, I gave you the option to tell me what you wanted to tell me willingly. But your refusal made me have to mine your memories, everything you knew I know as well. Your knowledge of EXS, Voids, the Hollow Night, Night Blade, Amnesia, etc. Which I have departed that information to my partner here. You are by far our most valuable catch, and your powers. Well..." Hazama chuckled as he looked at the tied up teen. Relius walked up again, he pulled the gown down a bit to reveal two fang marks on Hyde's shoulder. Hyde pulled his shoulder away as the man made him increasingly uncomfortable.

"How interesting, so these are the scars from the void that gave you your powers." Relius thought aloud, Hazama has informed him of everything. Hyde was attacked by a void, nearly killed, he was bitten on his shoulder, of which gave him his in-birth powers.

"I have several tests I would like to preform, especially with those powers of yours." Relius said, he nodded to Hazama who smiled and snapped his fingers. The chains loosened and freed Hyde from his bonds. The snake head hissed before vanishing in a green light. Hazama opened a magic circle and Insulator fell out, it quickly vanished in a flash of red light. Hyde stretched his arms a little and looked at the two men with caution.

"Hazama said you are able to summon it at will. I have a theory I would like to test." Relius said, Hyde stood up, albeit wobbly a little from being restrained for over a day. He took a breath and looked around. They were in some kind of metallic walled room, a singular door was behind them and several cords ran all over the room. Insulator could easily slice down the door, what he had to deal with were the two guys before him. Hazama was somehow able to see his memories, then he must've seen him use the blade. If they were not too worried about him handling the blade, then they are either cocky or actually very powerful. Based on how Ragna was back in the phantom field, most likely the latter.

Hyde took a breath as summoned his EXS. A red orb of energy appeared in his left hand and he grabbed it with his right, the handle and then the blade of Insulator emerged from the orb. He swung it down and held it defensively against his two opponents.

"So my theory was correct." Relius said as he examined Hyde and the sword behind his mask. Hyde stiffened a little as his opponents stood eerily still.

"My boy, what you wield is akin to a Nox Nyctores. Some of the most powerful weapons in existence. You summoned your blade similarly to Nox Nyctores: Bolverk, summoned to the wielder by magic circles. If it can slay immortals then it has enough power to do what she wanted." Relius smiled as Hyde backed away a little, his grip tightening more on the sword. He felt like he was being stalked by Voids.

"That blade, the energy radiating off of you. Your EXS, the Void Red, you are what we need." Relius said, his voice becoming more and more unhinged and louder while Hazama remained still, but smiling.

"Ignis!" Hyde barely had time to dodge as a giant metallic claw that could rival Waldstein's crashed into the wall were he once stood. He recovered to see a massive magenta colored robot. He got up and ended with Ignis being between him and the two men.

"Black Orbiter!" Hyde swung down his sword and a disc of red and black energy surged toward his foes. Ignis jumped out of the way as did Relius and Hazama, it also managed to break down the door, revealing another corridor.

"His power, it reminds me of him, of an Azure. Even if he's not from this world, from a different one, his energy is similar enough to do what we need. That blade I need to do further research." Relius said, he snapped his fingers and Hyde found himself grabbed by a pair of arms. Each one holding his wrists.

"Hey! Let go!" Hyde grunted as he tried to break the grip, one twisted his right hand enough to make him drop the sword. Relius walked over and attempted to grab the sword. Only to reel back as he felt a harsh cold feeling slice through his body. Hyde managed to kicked whoever or whatever was behind him to loosen it's grip, he slipped out and beelined for the doorway, he managed to skid and grab Insulator away from Relius. The only thing on his mind was to run, to get out of here.

"OUROBOROS!" Hyde tripped as he saw the black snake chain shoot over his head, thankful that his misstep actually helped him. He saw another doorway, locked, he readied his sword again. Only to come to a screeching halt as his wrists were grabbed again and held above his head. The sword fell out of his hands as he was suspended above the floor. The air was knocked out of his lungs and he felt that if he was going any faster, the force would've made his arms pop out of their sockets.

"Looks like Ignis' speed upgrade suited her well." Relius said as Hyde heard the footsteps echoed on the tile floors. Hyde shifted a bit to try and twist his way to face them.

"Quite the reaction speed and reflects my boy. To think you only had this power less than a few months." Relius said as he walked to face him. Hazama close behind and sealed the weapon again inside a magic barrier.

"If you think I'm going to help you, forget it." Hyde said as he tried to free his wrists from the mechanical bind. Relius simply chuckled.

"Oh, I do not expect you to help me. You remind me vaguely of my son, he ran away quite some time ago. I don't need your cooperation for my next set of, tests." Relius said, the phrase sending a shudder down his spine.

We have some guests with us, I don't want to disturb them. " Hazama said, as he pulled out the cloth Hyde hated so much and gagged him again. Hyde felt himself move as Ignis walked, holding a tight grip on his wrists. All Hyde could do was just look for an opening, and if none were found, just pray that something good might happen.

Elsewhere...

Yosuke opened his eyes with a groan, where was he? Thankfully this time his butt was not in agony. He jumped up, the puppet persona like thing, the masked man. He was abducted, he looked around and found himself in a small metal room. A heavy duty door infront of him and he was without his kunai.

"Mpphm." Yosuke heard grunts and ran to the door, peeking between the bars of the small window. He saw the masked man with, Hazama, the green haired man he tagged with back in the Phantom Field. Ignis was with them, dragging a gagged Hyde by his wrists as he struggled. That can't be good, and if Hyde was here, that means others from the field must be as well. Whatever they had planned cannot be good. Yosuke looked and waited for the footsteps to move out of range. He stepped to the back of his cell.

"Persona!" Yosuke summoned his and the persona moved to try and kick down the door. Only for a loud clang to sound throughout the corrider and the door not have moved an inch. His persona vanished in a flash of light. Turns out they can summon them for a very short period of time before dematerializing due to them not being in the TV world.

He needed to get out of here, Naoto had to be here and now Hyde was here. Yosuke looked around to see if he could use anything, but it was just an empty cell. He walked toward a wall and knocked on it, surprised as the metal vibrated and sounded for a few long seconds. It slowly faded away. Alright, first off, there's nothing he can do at the moment. He tried to summon his persona again but to no avail. Guess there was an unknown cooldown or something. Hazama, he partnered with him once when they ran into the blue haired half-naked man and the crazy guy with red hair. Even before they partnered, he could tell something shady was going on with Hazama. Something just felt, off, about him. Now he knows why, he was partnered up with a mad scientist. At least what he assumed to be a mad scientist.

"LET ME GO!" Yosuke barely heard Hyde's cry as it echoed through the halls. The sound of machinery going and Hyde's voice quickly going silent. Yosuke gulped and feared the worst, was he going to be turned into a cyborg? A chimera? A weird puppet thing?! Yosuke gagged as his imagination went wild. After a few minutes the machinery stopped, and footsteps echoed. He backed up, ready to fight. Hazama opened the door with that sly smile of his.

"Hello, partner. Have a nice rest?" Hazama asked in mocking concern, Yosuke got ready, glaring at the man. Now that the two were alone in a no combat situation, Yosuke got a clearer look at him. He clenched his fists more when Hazama called him 'partner' that was a special term for his friends. Hazama was clearly no friend.

I would like to know where I am." Yosuke said, mustering his energy not to scream and keep his composure.

"Oh? Your within the confines of my partner's laboratory. You are lucky he let me take custody of you. Who knows what he may have done if he saw another user." Hazama chuckled, Yosuke's blood ran cold.

" 'Another'? Where's Naoto?" Yosuke asked, Hazama looked at him briefly surprised.

"Oh? You mean the Detective Lady. I'm afraid I have no idea, Relius is using her in some secret project he won't tell me about. How sad a comrade is keeping me in the dark." Hazama sighed, fake sadness dripping out of his mouth.

"Persona!" Hazama opened an eye to see the ninja like persona launch at him. Hazama quickly moved as the persona crashed out of the door. Yosuke made a run for it, only to be tripped as a black and green chain grappled his ankles.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, a quick hit and run tactic won't fool me partner. I am a captain of the Intelligence Department of the NOL you know." Hazama dragged Yosuke back and stood over him.

"Don't call me partner." Yosuke said as he glared at the man. Hazama bent down to look at him closely. Hazama grabbed his throat with an iron grip as Yosuke started to struggle.

"Oh, you will be calling me partner very soon..." Hazama held up Ouroboros so the snake head stared at Yosuke. It hissed and it launched at Yosuke with wide jaws, his world went black there.

Earlier...

Hyde was dragged past a few metal doors and into a giant room with some kind of large machine with a human sized pod in the center back. Several tubes and wires hanged and connected to the center pod, with a white cover that had a small blue tinted window. Relius walked over to a computer thing hooked up to several wires connecting to the wall and to the pod. He pressed a few buttons and the pod door opened. Revealing metal cuffs inside, along with more tubes and even a oxygen mask.

"Put him in there, I have been waiting a very long time." Relius said, Hyde tried to dig his heels into the smooth tile floor to no avail. Ignis turned him around and made him lie there, Hazama came by and quickly grabbed one of Hyde's arms and shoved it into a metal cuff, it closing quickly and tightly around his wrist. Hazama made quick work restraining his ankles and remaining wrist. Finally, Hazama removed the gag again as Hyde began to struggle against the restraints.

"LET ME GO!" Hyde yelled as he pulled at the cuffs. His energy going down as he looked at his captors.

"Don't worry, soon enough you won't feel a thing." Relius walked over and pulled out a syringe filled with a dark blue liquid. Fear grew more and more within Hyde, and a fear he hasn't felt since that Night. His struggling ceased as he was paralyzed again as the needle grew closer. Relius smiled as he injected Hyde with the liquid. Hyde felt drowsy almost immediately that he nearly passed out. His breathing slowed as Hazama shoved something rubbery into his mouth. Relius moved something near his arm. Hyde heard the pod let out a hiss, the lid came down and his vision was limited to the blue tinted window. He saw Relius and Hazama leave his view as he fell unconscious.

Relius smiled as Hyde calmed down and Hazama placed in the oxygen mask. He moved to set up some IVs for Hyde. Once the pod was closed, Relius walked back to his monitor and saw Hyde's condition as stable.

"Well that was exciting wasn't it?" Hazama asked as he briefly wiped his hands together.

"Yes, his energy was something different alright. Give me his sword, that I need to study further." Relius said, Hazama shrugged, opened a circle and the sword clattered to the ground. Relius pulled his gloves and gently picked up the blade. Itself was radiating some kind of hostile energy.

"It must be upset on what we did to it's master. Well, I'm going to check on my partner." Hazama said as he left the room. Relius examined the blade, the markings pulsing violently across the blade.

"How interesting..." Relius took the blade to a different room. He placed it inside a tube like containment hold and scanned it.

"Unidentified, obviously. However, if I can understand even the basic components, I can maybe make something similar. A tool that can kill immortals, that is something I need to test." Relius looked at the sword more, recalling what Hazama has told him, that Hyde summoned the sword after being bitten by a void. He was nearly killed by another, but the sword materialized and protected him. It reminds him a lot of Noel Vermillion, who obtained Demon Guns: Bolverk in a very similar fashion, her being Mu-12 had nothing to do with the summon, and no doubt would've saved her even if she wasn't a Murakumo Unit. They were summoned when their soon-to-be wielder was in danger, most likely life-threatening danger. The resemblance was too noticeable, since it was from another world, there was a high possibility of it merely being chance. After all, Hazama told him the sword was created centuries ago, long before the Event Weapons were even a concept. Even the Black Beast was not a concept when the sword wss created.

A thought occured to Relius, he looked at the sword, it pulsed brightly as energy ran across the markings on the blade. The burst of energy Hyde had released earlier. The energy itself, it was similar. The Boundry is indeed a place of unknown places and possibilities, what if the Black Beast was indeed a massive Void that originated from the world of a Hollow Night? It only growing stronger as it absorbed magic formula. Relius shook his head, that was a thought for a different day. It was absurb, he needed more information before such an improbable theory could be formed. He has much to do, Relius left the room, leaving the sword alone in it's container.

Elsewhere...

In a dark room, a figure lied in a pod, unconscious. Only a health monitor beeping steadily from further away.

"-Pro-Om-14-completed- systems:-pending-..." The figure's eyes opened to reveal an empty blue.

"All systems green, waiting activation."

##########################

**And that wraps up the events that transpired during Linne's visit with Rachel and Kokonoe. I would love to hear your thoughts on this particular chapter, I like writing Hazama's dialogue and these very scary situations. The author's note for this chapter is a bit short (It's almost 2am...) And I wanted to get this out. Just as a warning, the more I look things up, the more I realize my persona idea is rather wacky in rhe sense it could not happen in the world of BlazBlue by it's logic. So, again, I would love to hear your thoughts on the chapter, and how you guys are enjoying the story so far, suggestions are welcome as well :) **

**Also, special thanks to...**

**Kinaki747: thanks for all the UNIB info. I hope you enjoy what I have thus far.**

**fernandamichelleraya: for reminding me why RWBY should play some kind of role (I ship Hyde and Ruby so much, it helps their around the same age too. Hyde is probably 16 and Ruby is 15.) And her interactions with Hyde and Hazama are some of my favorite. Hope you are enjoying the story thus far. **

**And finally jadasimone16: for a simple comment of the return of our huntresses. I have plans, hope you enjoy. **

**So thank you guys for leaving a review, I appreciate it and I'll see you all next time. **

**Bye~ **


	6. Chapter 6: Night in the Town

Chapter 6: Night in the Town

Ruby sighed as her team, Makoto, and Gordeau wandered the streets of 7th Hierarchical City of Kazamotsu, Makoto was not in her NOL uniform, so they had no trouble with any of the Ikaruga guards.

"We should get something to eat. This place is known for their pizza." Makoto said, practically drooling.

"Probably." Gordeau looked around for any familiar faces. He looked at a peculiar girl standing by a shop. Her hair was silver, she wore a dark cloak, and seemed rather small. Her eyes were drifty despite being closed.

"Hey miss." Gordeau temporarily left the group and walked toward her.

"Yes?" She responded simply, holding a folded piece of paper.

"You didn't happen to see a schoolboy with blonde and black hair, wearing a red tie and two belts, did you?" Gordeau asked, the girl simply unfolded the paper she was holding.

"I assume you mean him." The girl unfolded the paper to show an exact ink drawing of Hyde, except his eyes were closed. To say he was shocked would be an understatement.

"He was being carried by NOL Captain Hazama Honoka. He said he found the child merely unconscious. That occured around eight days ago." The girl said, that left an unsettling feeling in his chest.

"His name is Hyde Kido, I know him, did you see the direction of where they went?" Gordeau asked, the girl shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, I last saw him leaving for the docks. If that gives you information. " the girl said, her eyes remaining closed, but looking in the direction of the docks. Gordeau felt something strange about her, it was an odd feeling, or more like, none. The girl didn't seem to have the same energy as everyone else.

"Thanks. I'm Gordeau by the way. " the girl simply smiled a little as she looked up at him with her still closed eyes.

"I am aware of who you are, Gordeau the Greedy Harvester from Kanzakai." she said, that answer definitely threw him off guard. She already didn't seem like a normal human, even by the energy of the people in the Phantom Field. Was she also from his world? No, her energy was very different from an In-birth.

"What are you?" Gordeau asked, the girl simply handed him the picture.

"I am merely Nobody. Phantom Fields have an odd way of interacting." Okay, now she knows about the Phantom Field. He had many more questions and felt like she had more information than she was sharing. Gordeau opened his mouth to ask another question.

"Hey! C'mon pizza's getting cold!" Makoto's voice echoed, grabbing his attention , he briefly turn around.

"I'll be right there!" Gordeau turned back to the girl, only to find her, gone. it's like she wasn't there, he would say it was just an illusion, maybe he grew tired and such, but the piece of paper in his hands said otherwise.

"What took so long? You kinda wandered off." Makoto said, eating a slice of pizza, Gordeau sighed and showed them the picture, explaining to them what the girl told him.

"Something is definitely off, I partnered with Hazama once and that guy gave me a very bad feeling." Gordeau said, Makoto growled a little as anger flashed across her face.

"What's the matter?" Ruby asked, she also partnered with Hazama, but he seemed nice.

"Hazama was my superior, he still is technically. He's bad news, he may come off as a nice guy, but he's one who enjoys making people suffer." Makoto said, that enough made their stomachs drop.

"He seemed nice though." Ruby said, he didn't go overboard when they fought together.

"Trust me, he isn't. I still have scars from when he tortured me to force Noel to activate her abilities." Makoto lowered her coat and turned around to reveal blade and chain like scars covering her back. She turned around to face them and replaced her coat.

"We need to meet up with Kokonoe and figure out what he plans to do with him. Even Kazamotsu's pizza is going to need to wait." Makoto said, she closed the pixza box as she suddenly turned serious and guided them through the city. Hoping to reach Kokonoe's lab soon. Gordeau looked back at where he saw the girl, thinking about it. Hazama mentioned something about souls before, when they partnered together. He wonders if that had anything to do with it.

"You okay Rubes?" Yang asked as she noticed her sister was quieter after Makoto's explaination.

"I'm fine, it's kinda hard to imagine someone slip so easily between morals. He helped me in the Phantom Field just fine, he was, nice. To know he did something so horrible like that..." Ruby's eyes drifted across the streets of the city.

"I know Rubes, at least he didn't lead you on. No one was hurt." Yang said as she patted Ruby's head.

"So, Makoto, can you tell us anything about your friend? Kokonoe you said?" Blake asked, Makoto suddenly switched back.

"Certainly, her name is Kokonoe, she's one hell of a scientist and made me this new outfit. She is rather rude and cold, and generally looks down on people, but she's a nice person once you get to know her. She is one heck of a tech wiz as well. Think of her if somehow you, old Weiss, and Ruby somehow got mixed together and is twice as cold." Makoto said.

"I wasn't that bad." Weiss complained, she really didn't enjoy recalling how she was to her friends.

"Well, ampt it up for her then. She is smart though, and isn't slow to point out a flaw. She upgraded Tager to how he was in the Phantom Field, probably more now. Back to our main topic however, I really hope we can find Hyde soon, he's a good kid. Definitely didn't like the idea of fighting us. Now that I think about it, Gordeau, why was Hyde so reluctant to fight with you?" Makoto said, Blake thought back, and Hyde did try to sort things out peacefully. Yu did tell them that they were all given different information, most likely Hyde was given different instructions and only needed to protect his own stone. Her gaze turned to Gordeau, who took a long breath.

"We clashed a few times back in our world, let's just leave things at that." Gordeau said, he didn't want to tell them about Amnesia as that would just put a strain on teamwork on a rescue mission.

"Whatever floats you boat. Any idea on why he would want Hyde?" Makoto asked, she could tell he was hiding something. Probably didn't want to tell them for a reason.

"My best guess is for his EXS powers. All in-births have powers known as EXS after they are bitten and survive a void attack. Hyde's EXS is known as Void Red and is purer than normal EXS, powerful enough to allow him to summon a sword not seen in centuries. That sword he wields, Insulator, has the power to kill immortals for good. No resurrection, no body swapping, no rebirthing, once slayed by Insulator, they are gone. His EXS energy is powerful on it's own, no doubt Hazama figured something like that out, and will probably try to use that energy for his own purpose." Gordeau said, after all, that's what Hilda wanted to do, use Insulator and most likely Hyde's Void Red energy to act as a final push to turning her into a Re-Birth.

"That, can't possibly be good." Weiss said, they wandered to a quieter part of the town, very few people were here, if any at all. So they were able to discuss things without any unwanted eyes. Weiss looked around the alleys and realized how much darker they were. Much to their luck, they never encountered anyone unsavory. However, learning that Hazama was a special person in the government here put her on edge. Ragna the Bloodedge definitely hated him, and refused any cooperation if it weren't for the System. she wonders about Ragna as well, he may be a pretty foulmouthed person, and definitely looked the part, she has learned to not always judge a book by it's cover. While she didn't trust the criminal, she feels like his bounty might be due to his hatred of Hazama. Considering what Makoto told them, she wouldn't be surprised.

"Does Kokonoe work with anyone? I'm curious, Hazama you said is your superior officer, does Kokonoe work with or under anyone?" Weiss asked.

"Not really sure, she's very secretive and some don't believe she exists. All I know is thst she works in Sector Seven, a group who specializes in fusing science with the magic formula powers that exist in this world. I don't think she has a superior, her only partner is the giant red guy Tager. Sector Seven is also one of the NOL's biggest threats but became so elusive that it may not even exist anymore. There are many things I don't know about her, but she made her goal very clear. It's not safe to say it here though." Makoto said, she wanted to tell them more, but it just wasn't safe here. They won't be safe until they get to her lab. She knows that Hazama is up to no good, she thinks Relius Clover also is hiding something.

"I see, so this place, this world, almost everyone or thing has something to hide." Blake said softly. Makoto frowned a little at how true the staement was. Blake looked around the buuldings of the alley and the moon bright in the sky.

"It does, you could say the world never fully recovered from the Black Beast's rampage. Even afterwards, people can have ulterior motives, some who think their belief and take extremes." Makoto said, as they walked, she began to tell them about her experiences, including Mai and Seifer.

Elsewhere...

Linne looked around the streets as Tager guided them along. Orie decided to stay at the lab and converse with Kokonoe and Ragna. So with her was Yuzuriha who was asking everyone they came across if they've seen Hyde. Sadly no one has.

"Young lady?" Yuzuriha turned to the sound of the voice and saw the cloaked girl with closed eyes and silver hair.

"Is there something you need miss?" Yuzuriha asked, Linne and Tager went after her.

"No, but I believe you do." The girl said, Linne narrowed her eyes, that girl, her energy was different. She could see signs of In-birth energy, but it was diluted or mixed with something. It was, off.

"I believe you are looking for a boy named Hyde Kido, am I correct?" The girl asked, all three of them reeled back a little.

"Yes, have you seen him?! do you know where he might be?!" Yuzuriha asked, she needed to find Hyde. Despite not talking in a while, he still was a little brother to her, knowing he got wrapped up in the whole Hollow Night business made her even more worried. He doesn't remember it anymore, but she promised him, promised them, that she would protect him.

"He was being carried by NOL Intelligence Captain Hazama Honoka here about eight days ago. He headed for the docks, another group was also looking for him. Gordeau the Greedy Harvester also looked for him. He ran with alarm back with his group, they went that way." the girl said, Linne grew worried, Gordeau was here as well? If he was here, even though he helped Hyde in the Phantom Field, he still worked for Amnesia for all she knew. Saving Hyde from Hazama was trouble enough, dealing with Amnesia would be easier to get done now.

"Let's go after Gordeau, he could have more answers." Linne said.

"I suggest you hurry, I'm afraid his energy is growing faint." The girl.

"What?" Yuzuriha breathed, she could sense his energy, but, she seemed like she knew more.

"What are you?" Linne asked, the girl simoly chuckled at the repeated question.

"I am simply Nobody, go look for your comrades. His energy grows fainter." The girl said.

"She's right, we should go." Tager said as he turned around, Linne and Yuzuriha faced him, and turned back to her, only to find her gone again. Like she was never even there. They swiftly left the area.

Elsewhere...

"All of that, and we don't know what their true motive is? How can, how can anyone trust with all that happening?" Weiss asked, she thought the inside business dealing with Grim, White Fang, and whatever was tough enough. Looks like this world is a lot darker than their own.

"Yeah, and it sounds like the NOL, despite being in charge of things, they can't be trusted." Ruby sighed. She wanted to have faith in people, such as trusting Ragna with the keystone when he told them. Gordeau said he was worried about her trusting nature. In a sense, he had a right to be worried. It seems like everyone in this world has something to hide, and it left something unsettling in her throat. Considering how much she liked and enjoyed Hyde's company when they met in the Phantom Field. Knowing that he may be in danger didn't settle well with her.

"You're right, it's not." They all jumped as they heard a voice. Turning around they saw that it was Tager.

"Tager! I'm so glad to see you buddy!" Makoto said, Linne, and Yuzuriha stepped out from behind him. Tager briefly explained their half of the story.

"So Hyde was kidnapped and now we're going on a rescue mission?" Yang asked.

"That's the plan, they've been missing for over a week now. They've been taken to a man named Relius to be experimented on, he's not the only one missing. Naoto Shirogane and Yosuke Hanamura have also been taken. " Tager said, Ruby looked up.

"Wait, Yosuke? He's one of the people I met in the Phantom Field, he kinda fell on top of me." Ruby said, laughing a little as she recalled the memory. It was an interesting first meeting with Hyde, Yosuke, and Chie. She felt kinda bad she left Hyde alone to ask about their personas.

"Yeah, did you guys find anything while you were out here? Oh, sorry, I'm Yuzuriha, I'm a close friend of Hyde's." Yuzuriha said, Gordeau walked up and handed her the paper.

"A girl gave it to me. When I asked, she said she saw Hazama and Hyde go to the docks. So they aren't in the city anymore. That's my best guess." Gordeau said as he handed the picture to Yuzuriha.

"At least we have some kind of lead." Linne said as she looked at the drawing with Yuzuriha. Believing the girl he talked about was the same one they talked to. She had many questions for him, but none for now.

"He must've knocked him unconscious to avoid suspicion. The people here don't like the NOL too much." Tager said.

Did you guys find anything before we ran into you?" Ruby asked, Linne shook her head.

"Nothing, we didn't past the docks so that would probably be the reason. No one else around the area has seen them." Linne said, this was going to be more difficult, if Hyde was taken by ship to a different city, it's going to take time to find them. she didn't like to think about it, about the danger Hyde was currently in. Based on Kokonoe and Rachel's description of Relius, made her fear the worst.

"Then I suggest we head there, we can probably ask about which flight he boarded." Blake said, the group nodded and left for the docks. They saw a worker there and Makoto walked up.

"Hey! Hello sir, I was wondering if you have seen a green haired man carrying a sleeping boy." Makoto said, the man looked at her confused.

"Well, no, I don't keep track of all the flights, the ticket seller should though. Go ask her, she would probably remember which tickets to what cities or places they could've gone." Makot thanked the man and they ran to the ticket booth. Makoto repeated her question.

"Yes, I did, he boarded a travel to the 2nd Hierarchical City of Iwatsuchi. I'm not sure why, but that's all I can give you." Makoto left the woman with a quick thanks and met up with them again.

"Iwatsuchi, that's where Hazama and Hyde went. We need to go tell Kokonoe now." Makoto said.

"Agreed, let's head back for now." Tager said, the group followed the Red Devil back to where Kokonoe stayed.

Later...

"Alright, how many more people are going to be dropping in? This lab may be big, but it's not that big." The group returned to a pink haired faunus like being with ears hidden a bit by her hair and two tails coming behind her, she wore a white labcoat like jacket, small spectacles, and looked positively pissed off.

"I apologize Kokonoe, looks like the Phantom Field still has lingering effects on those drawn in." Tager said.

"Whatever you say Tager, and you are another demi-human? Haven't seen one besides Makoto in a while, You must be Blake, move like an assassin? Skilled at hiding in shadows. " Kokonoe said, Blake shook her head.

"I am no assassin, I can assure you that. My stealth may be on par with one, but I am not." Blake said, her eyes meeting Kokonoe's as the other examined her.

"Very well, you lot must be others drawn in from the phantom field. Everyone from the group who knows of Hyde Kido and his powers come with me, I need all the info I can get in order to track down Relius." Kokonoe said.

" Alright! C'mon old man! " Ruby suddenly grabbed Gordeau's arm and dragged him along.

"Whoa! Hey! I can move, calm down." Gordeau's voice died down as they quickly vanished down the halls.

"Is she always like that?" Yuzuriha asked amused.

"Yeah, Ruby is hyper like that." Yang said with a chuckle. Ruby seemed to have bounced back rather quickly.

" Oh? I didn't Professor Kokonoe had so many guests over. " a new voice broke in the room. The group turned to ser two more girls, one with lavender colored hair with butterfly clips, and another with bright navy hair in a ponytail.

"Kajun! Mai! You guys came here?" Makoto exclaimed as she ran up to hug the two.

" Yes, I came to give Kokonoe the information I was able to gather. " Kajun said, holding a flashdrive.

**###########**

**Okay! That was the sixth chapter. After planning in the next chapter, the one after that will be the rescue operation. Would love to hear what you guys think of the story and this chapter so far, apologies again if the dialogue seems a bit choppy, I'm working with over a dozen characters, half of which I have limited knowledge on how they may act. **

**But, a guest asked, I will be bringing in Seth, but after the rescue operation, and an interaction between another blue clad assassin. Don't worry, he will be there, just be patient ;) **

**See you guys next time :) **


	7. Chapter 7: Load

Chapter 7: Load

Linne looked at the hardrive Kajun had presented them. This potentially was the key to finding out exactly where Relius is hiding. Where he took Hyde and the others, as well as find Hazama most likely.

"I believe we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Kajun Faycott, I'm one of Kokonoe's assistants, this is Mai Natsume a dear friend and budding fighter." Kajun said, Mai blushed a bit and waved a little to thr group.

"Makoto told us about you, and the inner workings of what she knows of the NOL. It's disturbing really, such dark secrets hiding within a grup that 'maintains order' as their claim." Weiss said, Kajun nodded.

"Yeah, it's sad, but sulking won't do any good now. Kokonoe has informed me that we are to plan a rescue mission for some people who have been taken by Relius Clover. I may not know exactly what I was able to retrieve, but all the information on this drive was inputted by Relius himself. Based on what I found, all his data is synced up through his labs. A lot of them encrypted and took some time to decode and copy. I was able to examine some of his data when I was coming here." Kajun said.

"Does that mean you know what he might be doing to them?" Yuzuriha asked, she needed to know, at least know if Hydr can hold out until they can get to him.

"Very little I'm afraid, nothing much different compared to the files I was able to send a few days ago to Kokonoe." Kajun said, right, Linne remembered. They were forming plans and waiting for when NOL guards were not in the city. They left for their evening outing and met the others about four days after Linne ended up here.

"So, do you guys think there's a reason behind him taking them?" Mai asked, she knows Relius had an interest in her due to being a Remix Heart, and thinking it might relate to the event with Seifer years ago. Despite how much she knew about his apathy to human experimentation, she knows he wouldn't just pluck some random person off of the streets.

"The very same reasons that Faycott found in those files. He's interested in the energy that Hyde carries. The personas that Hanamura and Shirogane control, he's interested in other worldly energy. I bet for reasons to help serve the Imperator." Linne said as she walked up.

"I would not be surprised, that man, it's like he lost the very concept of empathy and humility. Everything he does is an act. Where is Professor Kokonoe? I need to give this to her." Kajun said, just as she did, the door opened and Kokonoe walked out with Gordeau and Ruby, both looking very down.

"Follow me, I just finished informing these two. Let's see if the files you managed to get this time has any idea on location." Kokonoe said, Kajun nodded and followed her, Mai also going with them.

"Is everything alright Rubes?" Yang asked, Ruby shook her head causing Yang to frown, she hardly sees her sis in such a state.

"What did she tell you?" Yang asked.

"She informed us more in depth of what situation Hyde and the others are in. I can't believe Hazama's true intentions were like that. He acted so naturally, it seemed so easy for him to deceive someone." Ruby sighed, knowing that Hazama is the resson that Hyde might be in mortal danger did not settle well with her. He seemed like a nice man, it's hard to believe he was able to act so naturally about it while hiding his intentions. She got flashes back to Roman, how he acted so carefree despite knowing what he was doing was wrong.

"Hey, um, where is everyone now that I think about it." Gordeau asked as he glanced around the room. The only occupants were team RWBY, Linne, Yuzuriha, Orie, Ragna, and Chie.

"My friends went to bed early, everyone else is either asleep or with Kokonoe." Chie said, rubbing the back of her head, it was strange to be in a room full of people by herself.

"That makes sense, okay, so what did she tell you?" Weiss asked as she looked at Ruby, it was definitely strange to see her so down before.

"She told us that there's a high possibility they're going to turn Chie's friends into mindless puppets. As for Hyde, she told me two possibilities; he's going to have his energy extracted, or turned into a monster that may destroy the world. " Gordeau said, he explained the details of the situation with Ragna's help for some bits. to say the rest of the team were worried sick would be an understatement.

"Arg! I swear, if he tries to sweet talk his way to Ruby again or make an appearance, I will blast him into the stratosphere." Yang said, hearing the truth about Hazama made her more mad at how he manipulated her sister like that, and knowing that he probably won't hesitate killing her if he had no more need of her.

"That's why we need progress. I already decrypted the files Faycott was able to collect. Sadly, I can't track his location. While it would seem we're back at square one, that's not the case. Using the info and that he set up a filing system that syncs up all his working labs, I might be able to track him down through there and get a location." Kokonoe walked out of the other room, Kajun and Mai with her.

"How long will it take?" Linne asked, Kokonoe momentarily frowned.

"No idea, that bastard knows how to cover his tracks. Based on what we have no later than two months. During that time, we can continue on our usual and try to gather info here. Everyone should be training as well." Kokonoe said, that made the room tense. Knowing that their friends would be stuck for a lot longer.

" I'm not happy about this either, but it's what we have. You guys gave me the extra info that Hazama left for Iwatsuchi. I'm not sure, but 2 would be a safe lastest. Let's hope we find them before that deadline. Relius was never one to take things slow. " Kokonoe said, leaving everyone, including herself with a sense of dread.

Elsewhere...

Relius looked over his computer as a soft hum and red glow shined from in front of him.

"Oh? What is the Colonel doing now?" Hazama asked as he walked into the room. He looked at the sight and saw Insulator in containment tube, it glowed brightly and seemed to be floating, bursts of red energy swirled in the containment tube. Next to it, was another tube, levitating within was another sword, it looked like Insulator, except the blade was an onyx black instead of ruby red. Red and black energy also swirled around the sword.

"Don't tell me, you are trying to make another one?" Hazama asked.

"It's an experiment, I have already found many similarities between this Indulgence of Insulation and a Nox Nyctores. While it may only be that of a powerful Imitation, I believe the void energy may be able to overcome our soul limitations. After all, surely it didn't get it's name from the get go. It must've earned that name, that energy, and the souls the blade itself may have taken. It may succeed, I am following the process for making a Nox Nyctores and not an imitation. If you are wondering where I obtained it. Do recall that it is Ignis' core, I simply separated it, I also used some of the energy to compensate. It's amazing at how similar they are." Relius said.

"So if anything..." Hazama looked at Relius with an interested look.

"We need a fresh soul to jump start it. No doubt his friends will try to stage a rescue, I'm certain we will obtain what we need." Relius said, he looked at the sword once again with a smile.

Hyde Kido, you don't realize how powerful you truely are. Nor the fact you will help us achieve the Imperator's goal. Are you truly from another world? Or is it just an alternate reality?

Five weeks later...

Kokonoe worked feverishly at her computer as she tried to track down Relius' location. For all they know, Hazama could've taken Hyde to Iwatsuchi as a diversion. Finally, her computer blinked.

"Bingo."

Linne dodged an attack as Ruby charged. The two of them were sparring together since they had similarities, small frames with inhuman speed. Each of them had faced several different types of enemies, but few like themselves. This was a good way to prepare, as that's all they could do. Yu and his team were constantly running investigations around the city while Gordeau and Blake would scout for anything during the night.

"You've gotten better Ruby." Linne said as she pocketed her smaller blade. Ruby took a huff, worn out, and smiled at the smaller girl.

"It's thanks to you. We need to prepare when we go. I hope their okay." Ruby sighed, she looked past Linne and at the door. Hyde was nice to Ruby, not like Hazama, but he was kind, and even was ready to jump to her defensive during a misunderstanding. She really hopes he's okay, after all, he also helped her teammates, while he did clash with Blake, he saved Weiss from a dangerous opponent even the System couldn't control. She was grateful, and all that, she needs to return the favor at least. Linne took a breath, and her expression saddened.

"Yeah, I hope so as well, Hyde is very stubborn so I think he's okay." Linne said, Hyde may not be the most experienced in birth, but he makes up for it in instincts and stubbornness.

"Hey! Linne! Rose!" The two girls turned to see Kokonoe.

"Get to the main room. I tracked him down." Kokonoe said, Linne and Ruby grabbed their gear, shared a nod, and ran in after Kokonoe. The three arrived and the others were present.

"You were able to find them?" Linne asked, Kokonoe nodded.

"Yeah, freaking pain in the ass. Their located at a hidden lab that Relius built years ago. He built it a mile or two away from his old house. Activity there is massive, they're no doubt there. As Ragna and I predicted, they don't have the NOL backing them here. We still need to be careful." Kokonoe said, she turned to Gordeau.

"So the plan is to split into four teams. One goes after Hyde, another after Shirogane, and another after Hanamura. Gordeau, Yang, and Ragna are team four. they will cause a ruckus, grabbing Relius' attention along with whoever else is there. While their distracted, the other teams will split and find our missing people. Kajun and I will be tagging along, Tager and Mai will remain here to watch the lab." Kokonoe said.

"Wait, why do you need to come?" Kanji asked, sure he was just happy they finally located their friends after a month and a half, but that fact seemed kinda out of the blue to him.

"To deal with their machinery and gear. It's a extremely high possibility your friends are hooked up to machines, and I don't trust you guys with hacking machines that will probably kill your friends. So the two of us will be tagging along in order to make sure you don't kill anyone by accident." Kokonoe said.

"That, seems fair." Yu said, he really hoped Yosuke was alright, and the thought of him being wired to some machine made him gag.

"Then it's settled, form teams and we will get going. " Kokonoe said.

Next day...

The teams have been made, Kokonoe would accompany Linne, Ruby, and Yuzuriha to find Hyde. Chie, Yukiko, Kajun, and Kanji would search for Naoto. Yu, Blake, and Weiss would go after Yosuke.

They arrived at the 2nd Hierarchical City and moved.

Linne thought to herself as they approached the hidden lab, sealed away in a partial cave system within a mountain.

Don't worry Hyde, just a little more...

**################**

**And now the operation will start, guys, I am literally hyped to write the rescue operation and aftermath. It has been going through my head so freaking much and I finally get to write it. Apologies for taking so long, my mind was frazzled when I found an anime based on one of my favorite mobile games, it was 'Puzzle and Dragons X' I binged all 89 episodes in the span of three nights. So... I may be writing about that series as well soon. Please leave a review, and requests if you have something you want me to implement. I can't say when I may implement it, but I will try. Have a great day and see you next time ;) **


	8. Chapter 8: Mission Underway

Chapter 8: Mission Underway

It was finally here, they finally tracked down Relius and where they took Hyde, Naoto, and Yosuke. They have arrived at the lab and Kokonoe found a trap door to lead them inside.

"Remember the plan, I'll go with you to find Hyde, Kajun is for Naoto. If you find find Yosuke, send us a message and tell us were you are. After all three have been retrieved, we are to leave immediately, got it?" Kokonoe asked as she tossed them each a communication device, Linne and the others nodded, one by one, they dropped down the hatch.

"We'll meet you guys outside, time to make a scene." Yang smiled as she pounded her fists. Now she gets a chance to really shine, no need to hold back here. The three of them left as Kokonoe closed the hatch. They arrived to a scene of several metal lined corridors, looked like some futuristic dungeon or something. Kokonoe pulled out a map with three circled sections.

"Another thing hidden away with the location was the layout. My best guess is that Hyde will be here. No doubt Relius wants something with his energy. Considering he didn't note anything particular for Yosuke, he most likely might be by his containment area. Naoto might be in this region due to him saying something about a Grim Heart projects." Kokonoe said as she pointed to several different areas in the lab.

" Also, quick change of team members, Chie and Weiss will switch, we need an even amount of force just in case. " Kokonoe said.

"That sounds good, now let's go save our friends." Chie said, she and Weiss went to their new sides and the three teams split down the different corridors. Ruby and Linne used their powers to burst ahead and scout. Yuzuriha and Kokonoe close behind.

Linne ran to a door and stopped. Ruby quickly skidded to a stop as well.

" What did you find Linne?" Ruby asked.

"He's here." Linne said, she recognized thst energy, she pressed a hand on the door. It was locked, much to her annoyance.

"I'll hack it. It'll be quick." Kokonoe quickly caught up with Yuzuriha and she immediately went to work with the door.

"Oh, um, why did we not bring Orie or Makoto?" Ruby asked, it wss a bit strange that they got left out.

"Because I need someone to help watch over the lab. Makoto is also technically an NOL soldier, one that supposedly 'betrayed' the NOL. If she's here, our goal of getting out of here silently will become more difficult. So it would be easier in the teams we have now. Get ready. " Kokonoe said as she unlocked the doors. All of them readied their weapons as the doors opened.

"Hyde? If you can hear us, please say or signal something." Ruby said as they slowly walked into the room. They all looked at the machine in the back of the room. Linne froze as she saw a familiar red and black energy flow away from the machine. she ran forward and toward the center pod.

"Hyde!" Linne pounded on the pod, the others ran over to see why she was upset. Ruby fell down from shock, Yuzuriha staggered back with a hand over her mouth, and Kokonoe growled before running to the computer monitor near the machine.

"No, why..." Ruby has seen many people asleep, but this, Hyde looked like he was dead, even with the blue tinted window, she could see how pale he looked, his chest was dangerously slow and an oxygen mask was keeping him alive.

"Don't worry Hyde, we'll get you out of here, I promise." Yuzuriha said as she placed a hand on the pod. She didn't like seeing him so, lifeless. She made a promise, she's not going to break it now.

"My theory was correct, that bastard is forcefully extracting his Void Red energy. He's being kept in a comatose state so energy levels remain constant for safe extraction. He needs a stimulant to make his body self maintaining again. As for all this energy, it's being transferred to two different locations. Linne, this energy isn't dangerous to a non inbirth or flammable is it?" Kokonoe asked, Linne shook her head.

"I hope this works." Kokonoe pressed some buttons and the stream of energy from the machine stopped. She pressed a few more and energy flow was redirected to a different location completely.

"Alright, energy flow has stopped, I'm transferring the energy to a different location. Until I can figure out how to safety eject him from the pod, find any medicine lying around and bring them here. We need a stimulant if we don't want to lug an air tank along with Hyde to keep him breathing." Kokonoe said, they nodded and quickly began searching the room. Linne glanced at the pod and sighed.

Just hang in there Hyde, you're not dying yet...

##################

"Naoto! Can you hear us?!" Kanji yelled as they walked through the corridors. Kajun sighed as she slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't go shouting, we don't know who else is here. We can't rely that Ragna and the others got their full attention. This is still a stealth operation." Kajun said.

"Where to start though? This place is like a maze." Weiss said as she looked at the walls, an eerie echo as their shoes clicked on the floor.

"Kokonoe said Shirogane would most likely be in this area. However, everything has been quiet so far. Concerning a live subject, he most likely has something running." Kajun took a breath and placed her hand on the wall. she closed her eyes, and slowed her breathing, almost like she was entering some sort of mediation. Sh stayed like that for a good minute, she opened her eyes and pulled her hand away from the wall.

"This way." Kajun said, Yukiko and Weiss looked at her confused but followed her. Kanji took a quick look around before following them.

"How can you be sure?" Weiss asked as she walked beside the lavenderette. Kajun kept her face focused as they navigated the halls.

"There's a consistent flow of Seithr going in this direction. If Kokonoe hasn't informed you, seithr is the term used for 'magic element' a substance that exists in this world. It's as common as is air, however can be depleted in a given area and needs time for it to replenish. The consistent flow means Relius most like is using Seithr to power some sort of machine, most likely where Naoto is. Here." Kajun stopped in front of a door, Kanji, Weiss, and Yukiko readied themselves as Kajun unlocked the door. Stepping inside, the lights were off, the only light coming from the machine in the back of the room and computer monitor to the right of it. Kajun turned on the lights, brightening the room a bit more. she went up to the machine as saw that it was a pod. Inside, was who she expected it to be.

"Just what I'd expect from Relius." Kajun said, Kanji took note of her words and went to the pod. Nearly falling back as a result.

"Naoto?" Kanji breathed, inside the pod was Naoto, her eyes were shut and she looked like she was sleeping. She would look fine if it wasn't for the faint metal plates creeping from over her shoulders and neck, nearly invisible from the thin white clothing over her shoulders and neck, plus the metal band around her forehead.

"Kokonoe, this is Kajun, we found Shirogane. She's in some sort of pod." Kajun said as she spoke into the communicator.

_" Same, we found Hyde in a pod as well. The bastard was forcefully extracting his energy. He was put into a comatose state, currently trying to find a stimulant to reactivate his system." _

Kokonoe responded through the comm and Kajun sighed.

"No word from Narukami's group just yet." Kajun said.

_" Once we get everyone, we're leaving. Try and see if you can safely extract Naoto from her pod. If she isn't also in a comatose state. " _

With that, Kokonoe ended the call. Kajun sighed and looked at the monitor.

"Can you wake her up?" Kanji asked, Kajun looked at him briefly.

"Most likely, based on the data he has on her currently, she isn't in a comatose state. She's simply asleep, looks like he took her out of the pod rather frequently." Kajun said, looking through, she noticed a timetable in one of the windows. When she opened it, she was greeted by a bunch of times for the pod. Wait, what?

"What is it?" Kanji asked, he noticed that Kajun became more concerned.

"These are time tables, for her pod. She was just placed back in there a few hours ago." Kajun said.

" That means you can wake her up, right? " Kanji asked, he really didn't like seeing Naoto in such a state.

"I can try." Kajun said, before she could hit any buttons though, the screen flashed blue before turning off. A loud hiss sounded.

"Um, Kanji, Kajun!" Weiss called, they saw the pod door open. Naoto was in full view now, metal plates and armor littered her body, mostly peaking from behind her. Her outfit was that of a simple two piece white skintight suit, exposing her belly. Her arms were covered in a white glove and long toeless socks/stockings went up to her midthigh. A white cloak was around her neck, with small colored decals.

Her eyes opened to reveal an empty blue.

"All systems functioning..."

Elsewhere...

Relius was looking over further projects he could use Hyde's Void Red energy for. It has proven to be very useful in many aspects. As he suspected, the Insulator permanently kills and seals the fate of all who fall under it's blade. In return, small fragments of the souls resided within the blade and energy. He has managed what he thought was impossible, now he has more power to further experiment.

Relius walked over to his work bench where Ignis was waiting. It didn't take long before an explosion echoed from the next room.

"Hazama..." Relius said through a communicator. The person in question chuckled.

_"Don't worry, I'll be sure to exterminate the pests. Let me have some fun first, I'll take care of the rest." _Hazama hung up and the door was sent flying. Relius snapped his fingers and Ignis got into an offensive position.

"Alright! Where are you hiding them?!" Yang yelled as she charged through the door. She launched at Relius who summoned Ignis to block her attack and shove her back. Gordeau and Ragna followed suit shortly after. Ignis blocked an attack from Ignis while Relius used one of his machines and mechanical arms to punch Ragna in the gut and send him back.

"That is of no concern for you. Now that you're here, I can test my new upgrade. " Relius did a hand motion and Ignis launched at Gordeau, a familiar stream of red and black energy emerged from her claws and she slashed at Gordeau. He barely dodged the attack as it swiftly cut in half a few metal crates lying around the room. Gordeau landed with a thud and looked at the robot, red and black energy streaming from her claws.

"No way..." Gordeau breathed out as he readied his scythe again. The hostility radiating from the robot was twenty fold compared to when he last fought with that energy.

"It is what you think it is. I have been running several tests, Hyde's Void Red is the most unique and powerful energy source I experimented with outside of seithr. That power radiating from it is close to that of the Azure Grimoire. No wonder that energy fueled the blade known as the 'Immortal Killer'." Relius said with a smile. He raised his hand and Ignis launched at them again, streams of energy coming from her claws and acting like something akin to a whip. Yang blocked the attack as it swung her into a wall. Ragna was able to run past it and attack Relius directly, the two exchanged blows as Yang and Gordeau tried to fight Ignis.

Elsewhere...

Yu, Chie, and Blake ran through and checked all the holding cells Relius had in his base. Only to find all of them empty. The comm Kokonoe gave Yu rung and he asnwered it.

"We read you." Yu said, Kanji's voice emitted from the device.

_"Narukami, we found Naoto, Kokonoe's group found Hyde. They're both in some sort of futuristic stasis pod. Kokonoe and Kajun are trying to figure out a way to 'safely extract' them as they said. Anything on Hanamura?" _

"Nothing on our end so far. Get them out of there and call us when you safely got them out. We'll let you know if anything comes up." Yu said, Kanji gave a quick ' roger that' and ended the call. Yu sighed a bit with relief. That's already two of the three they needed to get out of here. If everything goes well, they will be able to get all of their friends out with minor diffilculties.

"Where is he?" Chie mumbled as she checked room after room. Yu and Blake not having much luck either.

"He's here, I can sense him, but I can't find him." Yu said as he looked around the room, if only Rise was here, her persona would definitely help in this endeavor.

"My, my, look who we have here." The group froze as black dress shoes clicked on the metallic floor. Hazama came walking toward them, a smile on his face and a hand on his fedora.

"Hazama, was it?" Chie asked as she took a combat stance, Blake readied her weapon and Yu drew his katana.

"My goodness, suspicious of me already? We just met, although I heard kids like you don't have many manners." Hazama said, the group glared at him, Blake especially, he reminded her too much of Roman. Moreso like a cranked up version of him, he didn't try to hide it either. He knows they're here.

"Let's get straight to the point. Where is Yosuke Hanamura?" Blake asked, taking a step forward. Hazama raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? My dear old tag partner, I don't want to say, it'll ruin the surprise. Is it a good guess to say two other groups of your friends came as well to look for Hyde and Naoto?" Hazama asked with a sly smile. The statement made them concerned, he was aware at least somewhat of their plans.

"Listen Hazama, we know who you really are. We are not scared of you, so tell us where Yosuke is before we have to force you." Yu said, pointing his katana. The action made Blake raise an eyebrow and Chie to look at him surprised. Yu glared at Hazama, Yosuke was his partner, and told them how he felt something was off about Hazama when they were teamed up in the Phantom Field. Yosuke and Naoto were his dear friends, so was Hyde when he saved Yukiko and teamed up with him to fight Jin and Jubei, there's no way he's leaving either of them behind. Most likely course of action would to keep Hazama occupied until Naoto and Hyde were safely extracted.

"Oh? Who I really am? Tell me then, I would be interested in your answer." Hazama said, still keeping an unnerving calm facade.

"Your real name is Yuuki Terumi. One of the former six heroes, one of the strongest, deadliest, and cruelist. One of the few who answer directly to the Imperator, and had no qualms about killing your former teammates." Yu listed off, his gaze never straying from Hazama's form. Hazama was silent, before he began to laugh, he laughed and laughed. Chie and Blake took a step back at how unsettling and crazy Hazama was acting. His fedora suddenly flew off, his eyes shot open, revealing glow yellow reptilian eyes, his hair sudden stood up on end, looking spikey and his once neutral to cool face turned to that of a sadistic smile.

"Oh? Well congrats, you know who I am. Ten points to you, your reward, me personally ripping your face off! Or better yet, just rip the faces off of your friends!" Terumi cackled, Yu stood his ground while Chie and Blake looked shaken. Hazama just changed in an instant, they needed a plan of attack.

"Terumi, I'm aware of what you can do. You feed off of hatred to fuel your powers. I have some things to tell you." Yu said, trying to keep his building rage inside his body. He took a breath, and calmed down. Terumi simply looked at him with an annoyed glare. Yu closed his eyes momentarily.

"And what does that shit have to do with anything?" Terumi asked as he watched the silver haired teen stand his ground.

*****"Two things Terumi: 1. You were able to do so much damage and cause so much pain in this world due to having years of experience learning about them, but we're a new factor, so you don't know anything about us and can't manipulate us like you've done others. And 2. You're power may come from others' hatred of you, but I will always love my friends more than I could ever hate you." Yu stated, opening his eyes with detemination.

"Izanagi!" The silvery persona materialized and they both shot forward towards Terumi. The former hero laughed and dodged the attack, sending Ouroboros to strike at Yu, Izanagi quickly blocked the attack before vanishing. Yu launched at Terumi as the latter pulled out his knives to block the attack. Breaking from their place, Chie and Blake launched themselves at Hazama-Terumi. Blake transformed her smaller blade and began to shoot at Terumi, Chie summoned her own persona and launched an attack. Terumi tauntingly dodged the attacks and sent Ouroboros to tangle Blake's ankle and send her flying into Chie. Yu tried to make a stab at Terumi with his katana, only for something to knock it out of his hands. The figure shoved him back and landed next to Terumi, in a black NOL Intelligence uniform, kneeling still and facing the corridor behind Terumi. Terumi replaced his fedora and Hazama came back. His eyes closed and that sly smirk returned to his face as his hair fell under the hat.

"Love your friends more than you could hate me? Are so sure about that?" Hazama asked, he snapped his fingers and the figure stood up and turned around. Chie and Yu nearly felt their hearts stop.

The figure in the uniform was Yosuke, except his face was empty, void of emotion, and his eyes were slightly lidded, like he was tired, but they were also glowing an eerie green.

"Courtesy of Phantom, Yosuke is now my partner. You wouldn't believe how much fun he was, can you still stay true to your statement?" Hazama asked, placing a hand on Yosuke's shoulder. The auburn teen not responding in any way. Yu felt the rage boil in his chest, Chie as well. Yosuke was someone who should never have such an empty look on his face. A face usually filled with jokes, flirts, and sometimes idiotic moments, should never look like it was ready to die. That wasn't Yosuke, not the one they know.

"What did you?" Blake breathed, seeing the teen in such a state made her uneasy.

"Oh, a spell courtesy of Phantom, I won't say anything, but let's just say dear Hana-chan here won't be disobedient anytime soon." Hazama said with a smile, Yu tried to keep his anger down as Hazama taunted them by playing with one of his knives near Yosuke's neck. Especially with how Hazama was handling Yosuke.

"But, I am a busy man, have places to be, intruders to eliminate. Dear Hana-chan, please take care of these intruders. You are a member of the NOL and under my command. Please make sure they don't leave." Hazama said, with a smile. Yu saw him turn his back, thankfully making him further away from his mind-controlled friend. He ran forward, grabbing his discarded sword, and made an attack. Only for his blade to be blocked by a large kunai. He looked and saw Yosuke's form block his attack without question. With a strong shove he pushed Yu back to where Blake and Chie were.

"Hanamura! You idiot! Snap out of it!" Chie yelled, Blake opened the device and managed to send a quick message to Ruby and Weiss' groups.

_Hazama knows, he's in pursuit, be careful _

Blake sent the message before focusing on Yosuke. A person she had to figure out how to handle, keep them alive while trying not to die. She nodded to Chie and Yu, and charged forward with a new plan.

Elsewhere...

"I found something!" Ruby called as she ran over to Kokonoe with a vial, Kokonoe looked at the label and sighed in relief.

"Good, this is the medicine we need. I figured out how to disable the pod. Linne, stand here and press this button when I give the signal. Alright?" Kokonoe asked, showing the button to Linne, she nodded and got ready. Kokonoe looked around before finding a syringe. She filled the syringe with the medicine and walked over to the pod.

"Yuzuriha, Ruby, come with me." Kokonoe said, the other two girls followed her toward the pod. She signaled Linne to pressed the button. The pod hissed as the door rose to reveal Hyde's form. Cloaked in the experimental robe, IVs, oxygen mask, and restraining metal cuffs, he looked deathly pale with bags under his eyes despite being asleep. Yuzuriha felt like she was going to pass out from seeing her childhood friend in such a state, and Ruby felt like she was going to vomit from the sight.

Kokonoe got to work quickly. Removing the IVs, and mask before injecting the medicine into Hyde's arm. After pressing some buttons on the pod console, the cuffs opened and Kokonoe told Yuzuriha to gently take him out. Yuzuriha gently lifted and lowered Hyde's body out of the pod. He felt lighter too, Yuzuriha carried him bridal style when Linne felt a message come up on their communcator.

"Hyde..." Yuzuriha breathed as she looked at her childhood friend. She didn't like seeing him like this, at all. It felt wrong, they needed to get him out of here.

"Guys, we need to hurry. Hazama's on his way." Linne said, Kokonoe growled.

"Alright, then, we better hurry. Considering how she told us, it's safe to say Hazama already ran in with her group. C'mon, Yuzuriha, keep an eye on Hyde. The rest of us will guard you until we get out of here, or until we kill the asshole." Kokonoe said, Ruby ran with them as they left. She had questions, but they could wait until after they got Hyde to safety. Moreover, she wasn't comfortable with how Kokonoe so easily says 'kill' to a person. It makes her question how bad things are here, if this world was able to use such words so easily, with no remorse, what exactly happened here? How can this world believe human life was so expendable? It didn't seem right. Not to mention that Kokonoe said it like she personally was mad at Hazama, she didn't know, but Hazama must've done something to Kokonoe to make her act like thay.

"Oh? I caught you just in time." Ruby froze at the voice as they stopped. She looked up to see Linne and Kokonoe standing defensively in front of Yuzuriha and Hyde. Hazama stood before them, knives drawn.

"Ah! Miss Rose, it's been a while since we last spoke. How have you been?" Hazama asked, Ruby couldn't help but notice how natural Hazama said it, so natural and casual, like he was unaware of the fact that he kidnapped a boy in order to drain his energy.

"Enough with the damn games Terumi. We're leaving here, whether you like it or not." Kokonoe said, her eyes glaring at Hazama.

"Oh? I don't like that at all, can't have you leaving here with our precious power source. Relius is already dealing with your little, ah, distraction. So I'm taking him back, such a shame to see you youngins end so early." Hazama said, taking off the fedora, eyes opened. The sadistic smile returned.

"Get ready to have your skulls crushed!" Terumi cackled, Ruby readied her scythe, ready to fight the person she first thought was a friend.

##########

**DUn, dun, duuuunnnnn **

**Recue Operation: Part 1 completed. Definitely would like to hear thoughts on the first part. Now it's mainly going to be a collection of fight scenes and personal thoughts for the next two parts. **

**As for time tables, this story takes place sometime before and during Chronophantasma with a few plot changes (mostly involving Ragna). It also takes place a month before the Vytal Festival/Volume 3 of RWBY. **

*** Special shoutout to 'Mystech Master' for being kind and letting me use this wonderful line (apologies if transition is bumpy). **

**I'll see you guys in the next chapter ;) have a good day. **

**#######**

**Also, here's a playlist of BB soundtracks I listen to during this whole operation. (Playlist will expand in next following chapters)**

**Ragna, Yang, and Gordeau vs Relius and Ignis (Plastic Night (Relius Clover theme) or Rushing Heart (Gordeau Theme))**

**Yu, Chie, and Weiss vs Yosuke (Silent Scream (Terumi Theme)) **

**Kanji group (Imperial Guard (Noel vs Jin theme)) **

**Linne, Kokonoe, Ruby vs Hazama/Terumi (Gluttony Fang (Hazama Theme)) **


	9. Chapter 9: Omicron, Terumi, Yosuke

Chapter 9: Omicron, Terumi, Yosuke

"All systems green, 4 unidentified subjects confirmed." The voice didn't sound like her, not really, it sounded more, robotic. Naoto gently stepped off the pod as her current small white cape fluttered around her frame. Her eyes were empty looking and her face was emotionless.

"Um, Naoto? Can you hear us?" Kanji asked slowly as Naoto stood in front of them.

"Subjects identified, Weiss Schee: Huntress, Yukiko Amagi: Persona User, Kanji Tatsumi: Persona User, Kajun Faycott: Only known data: Former NOL Military Academy Student." Naoto listed in an oddly robotic voice. Her eyes scanning them and the environment. Kanji took a careful step forward.

"Naoto? It's us, your friends." Kanji said as he walked up to her, he saw her eyes, they were not normal, they looked, empty.

"Name: Naoto Shirogane, False. My name is Omicron-14." Naoto said, Kanji took a step back from the answer. Did they brainwash her or something? Why was she talking like a freaking robot?

"Energy levels rising, threat level: rising. Identified subjects: intruders, engaging combat mode." As soon as Naoto finished her sentence, a coffin like case fell behind her, she fell inside and a flash momentarily blinded them. Once their vision was regained, Naoto was now wearing a dark blue skintight suit, weird metal leggings hid her legs and feet and long gauntlets covered her arms. Her back was also covered in a silvery and gold colored metallic armor, it covered her back fully and lightly spread to the front, forming a small metal breastplate and a codpiece. Her eyes were covered by a smooth round dark and light blue visor and a metallic headpiece wrapped around her head and silvery metal strips flowed in long ribbons behind her head*. Six levitating swords flew to each side of her back like wings. Her form floated above the ground, showing them how she could fly.

"Current mission, eliminate intruders." Naoto said as she jumped up. Sending the swords flying towards them, Kajun summoned her magic formula and made a shield to block the swords. she grabbed Kanji and ducked behind a set of tables. Weiss and Yukiko also seeking cover from the barrage of swords.

"What is wrong with Naoto?!" Kanji exclaimed, more in confusion than to anyone in particular. Kajun sighed.

"Based on the data I found while trying to wake her up. Relius tried to turn her into a Detonator, much like what he did to his wife Ignis. Ovet half of her body is now metal and machine. I don't know what his end goal is, but he's trying to make her similar to the Event Weapon Nirvana. He even has plans to give her an Event Weapon, one he calls Rem Gravibus. she's mostly metal now, I'm not sure how much of her is still human. Even if we launched a rescue mission the day you arrived, it would've been too late. Her modifications process was finished a few days before you guys arrived. From what I managed to find, he was in the process of testing her, seeing if she is able to become a Detonator like Ignis, I will say we got lucky. If we gotten here anytime sooner, she would either no longer be human, or dead. I'm afraid the only way to save her is to somehow shut her down and take her to Kokonoe. Even then, we might have to erase her memories in order to prevent her from crazy." Kajun explained. Kanji just looked at her horrified as he tried to process the information.

"But it is possible her personality can return if she's with someone who was close to her." Kajun said, it was a slim possibility, but it was their only option, if Kanji and his friends wanted the Naoto they knew back. The tables suddenly flew away and Kajun summoned another Ars shield to block the sudden barrage of swords. Naoto's face hidden by the visor.

"Naoto! You need to wake up! Persona!" Kanji summoned his persona and it made an attack at Naoto. She quickly reeled in her swords and used them as a shield to protect herself from the attack, causing her skid back as a result. Weiss leaped forward wirh her rapier, summoning glyphs in order to out maneuver Naoto's swords. The latter shot her swords at the huntress, forming a circle and shooting them forward like a machine gun. Weiss quickly pulled up glyphs to act both as a launch pad and a shield to dodge the blades. Weiss summoned a series of glyphs and ice swords shot out, each one perfectly parrying each other.

"Don't hurt her!" Kanji exclaimed as he ran forward, his persona was mostly strength, equalling blunt force, considering Naoto's new form, she could take a punch, she was pretty tough even before being brainwashed. Swords however? No, sharp enough and it'll cut and puncture skin.

"I'll try, but she seems certain to hurt us." Weiss said as she summoned small snowflake glyphs and sent them forward, causing icy mist explosions to hit Naoto. She raised her rapier and charged forward, maybe the visor hiding Naoto's eyes are what's controlling the swords. Weiss ran forward, twirling around the swords, making closer to to Naoto, Weiss jumped up and aimed her blade at the visor. Before it could make contact, Naoto moved her body and jumped, her body moving as Weiss's rapier shot past her, she looked up as Naoto kicked Weiss in the chest and sent her into the wall. Yukiko raised her fan.

"Persona!" in a flurry of fire and cherry blossoms, Yukiko's persona materialized and a burst of flame shot past Naoto's form, causing the girl to grunt as the swords scattered. Naoto quickly flew away from the flames and redirected the blades toward Yukiko. Weiss quickly jumped in front of her and summoned a glyph to block the attack. Kanji ran up, trying to find something in order to at least restrain her, if she's part machine, than trying to tear anything out forcefully could end badly. Yukiko sent another burst of fire before her persona vanished, forcing Naoto to move quickly, using her swords as a shield to fan the heat away from her body. Kanji was able to jump her and knocked her to the ground, dodging the swords as they tried to stab him. Naoto quickly kneed him and shot upward again, making the blades circle and create a machine gun like action as the swords shot at him. Weiss quickly made a glyph and slid him out of the way. Kajun ran forward.

"Let's see if Taro's training worked." Kajun spread her hands and slipped on a thin pair of white fingerless gloved. In an instant several thin strings emerged and manipulated by the gloves. Kajun twisted her body and the strings quickly bound Naoto's form. The faint clicking and scratching of metal sounding ever so slightly. Naoto remained still as her swords were also suspended.

"Find a way to deactivate her, these strings may not survive for long." Kajun said as she held onto the strings with a tight grip. Kanji and Weiss went to see and Yukiko walked up to Naoto, who seemed to be pulled against her makeshift binds.

"Naoto-kun, it's me, Amagi, do you remember? You were very embarrassed when we were at the hotsprings." Yukiko said with a small chuckle as she walked slowly toward her friend. Naoto merely remained silent as the strings because to echo with strain. Kajun kept a tight grip on the strings, but her grip was struggling. Weiss was looking through the monitor, trying to find anything, while Kanji was trying to find a weak spot in order to knock her unconscious.

"You were also nervous when we did that beauty pageant. Or how scared you were when you faced your shadow? Naoto, you're our Detective Prince, you always helped us and made us a better team. You are you, regardless of your appearance, please." Yukiko said, she reached out to reach her visor, hopefully attempt to remove it. Only for the swords to vibrate, and in an instant, the strings broke. The sound of strings cutting through air reverberated as the strings flashed. Yukiko jumped back as Weiss' white glyphs flashed before her and shielded her from the blades.

"We need to find a way to restraint her more permanently fast. Considering her power level, I don't think ice would do anything." Weiss said as she made another glyph, they needed an answer fast. Her team and herself fought may grimm and enemies before, but nothing on this scale. Not only does Naoto move in a way that was more robotic than enemies she's used to, but also that she didn't fight in a combat style. She simply remained still a good deal of the time, moving only her arms to control the swords and maneuver when necessary to dodge.

"Naoto! You need to snap out of it!" Kanji suddenly yelled as he grabbed a nearby chair and attempted to tangle Naoto in it by throwing it over her head. The swords shattered it before it reached her and he latched onto her like a sloth. Naoto flew around in a sporadic movement as she tried to get Kanji off. Kajun and Weiss summoning shields to prevent him from getting stabbed by the swords. Yukiko looked around before a light went off in her head.

"Kanji! Use your persona's power to shut her down! If her body has metal, your lightninf should start a reaction!" Yukiko said, Kanji nodded.

"Persona!" Kanji shouted, the dark form of Take-Mikazuchi. The persona sent a bolt of electricity at Naoto's form just as Kanji jumped off her to avoid the caused her to scream briefly for fall to the ground. Her swords also deactivated and fell to the ground with a loud clang. Kajun took a brief sigh of relief as she fell to the ground.

"Just in time, this place is running out of Seithr for me to use. I have enough to cast a restraining Ars Magus on her. Let's get her out of here and meet up with the others before Hazama apprehends them." Kajun sighed as she started to cast her spell. Kanji looked at Naoto's downed form and frowned, a mix between sadness and anger. What did that bastard do to her? She was mostly machine now? Before he could say anything a sword suddenly shot up and shot past Kajun, slicing her arm and went towards Naoto. Kajun stopped her casting to hold her bleeding arm. Naoto woke up again, she summoned her swords and made them spin in a circle with a flower like pattern.

"Elimination of targets, nullified, mission override." Naoto said an orb of light suddenly exploded from the center and everything went white.

After a few seconds, the light faded away. Naoto looked around the room and found everyone unconscious. Whatever was in that blast knocked them out cold.

"Current mission active, target status changed eliminate: false, nullify: true. Retreat if not concluded within ten minutes." with that, Naoto left the room, leaving the others unconscious on the ground.

##################

"Oh c'mon, you brats gonna have more than that!" Terumi cackled as he dodged attack after attack and fighting them with Ouroboros and his knives. Linne scowled and ran up, swinging her larger blade at Terumi. Terumi used his black chain to blocked the strike and kicked Linne in the chest, sending her back. Kokonoe launched forward as she pulled out an electrified staff, glowing with energy. The sparks scattered as it continued to hit the ground from Terumi's counter attack. She spun the staff, causing it to recoil and shrink, she quickly pocketed it and pulled out a drill hammer of sorts, the blade began to buzz as she swung at Terumi, causing sparks to fly whenever the tool got into contact with the chain. She ducked under his attack and kicked him in the abdomen, making him skid back. Linne ran past Kokonoe and dealt a series of kicks and strikes at Terumi. Much to her annoyance, her strikes did very little to Terumi's form.

Ruby was trying to push the memories from the field out of her head. Hazama was threat, he did this to Hyde, to her friends, and he looked so, gleeful about it. She fired her weapon and the bullet hit Terumi in the chest, much to her surprise, he laughed again. the bullet bounced to the ground, and he stood uninjured.

"Finally you little brat decided to join the fight. Decided not to leave it all up to your friends? Now let's have some more fun." Terumi launched past the others and his knife shined in the dim light. He was fast, Ruby activated her semblance in order to dodge, she pulled her weapon again and fired at Terumi, only to see the bullets do no damage. What was with him? Some kind of forcefield or strong skin? She was firing sniper bullets they should have at least made him bleed. He wasn't like a grim either, how was he human? Forgetting the gun, she opened up her weapon to reveal it's scythe form.

"Now that's more like it!" Terumi cackled as he charged at her. Ouroboros shot towards her and she used Crescent Rose to block the attack. She skid back from the impact and launched forward herself. Bringing the blade down ready to cut Terumi's arm off. He swung up his knife to block it, surprising Ruby that the knife didn't break from sheer pressure. He launched her back, making her twirl her scythe and have the blade dig itself into the ground, herself balancing on it. Terumi ran at her, quickly glancing at the walls of the hallway, Ruby fired her weapon, launched into the wall, activating her semblance she quickly bounced from wall to wall, successfully confusing Terumi enough to land a solid kick onto his back shoving him down. Ruby quickly looked around and was relieved that Linne ushered Yuzuriha and Hyde further away from the fight. The brunette in birth launched forward and kneed Terumi in the chin as he was getting up, sending him back, another hit was dealt by Kokonoe to his chest. He stood up with a grin when he landed.

"Man you brats are fun. Definitely more entertaining than good old Raggy." Terumi said as he stood up, much to Ruby and Linne's confusion, he seemed mostly unharmed. Wasting no time Ruby launched forward again with her semblance, a trail of rose petals behind her, she swung her scythe and the blade hooked Terumi in the chest, shooting him further back. Terumi reacted quickly sending Ouroboros and wrapping around Kokonoe's waist, pulling her towards him as he pulled himself forward. Leaping up, he kicked Kokonoe in her back, sending her to the ground as he used her as a launch pad. Ruby, still worried that her weapon didn't even scratch him save his clothes, ran forward with Linne. The two speeding girls performed Ruby's zig-zag move across the walls again, Terumi was prepared though. Using Ouroboros to create a semi-shield of sorts, he blocked the blows from their blades, he quickly pulled the chain back, grabbed Linne by her sleeve and kneed her in the gut, making her let out a strained cough as the blow threw her back.

Ruby took the opportunity Terumi gave her from his action with Linne to deal a blow from her scythe onto his neck, much to her horror, it didn't do anything, like he was made of stone or something. As much as she figured blows to his body, bullet or otherwise wouldn't do anything, she expected a blow to the neck would've done at least something.

"So you finally decided to use a killing blow? Not bad, but try harder next time, you need more than that to kill me." Terumi said, he whipped out one of his knives and shot at her. She dodged just in time so the blade only cut her cheek. She jumped back and got her weapon ready with a sniper shot loaded. She was in a sort of crouched position as she took deep breaths. Her aura was getting low, Terumi smiled and came at her again, both knives drawn. Ruby used her shot to launch herself back to put more distance between them, she dug her blade into the ground and began to fire shot after shot at Terumi. He dodged and continued to get closer, once he got close, Ruby angled her weapon and shot downward, making the blade launch and spin, she quickly maneuvered the blade to trip Terumi and jump up, sending a good kick into his chest. Terumi got back up again, laughing as he came at her again, she saw a flash of black and green as Ouroboros shot past her, slicing her left arm. The pain made her flinch, allowing Terumi the time to perform the same move he did on Linne, kneeing her in the stomach and tossing her back.

"That was fun! Let's make things interesting." Terumi said, he replaced the fedora and Hazama came back out, the hair fell and his eyes close, once again with a sly instead of sadistic smile. Kokonoe slowly got back up and tried to charge him from behind. He turned around and launched Ouroboros.

Hazama wrapped his chain around Kokonoe's ankle and preformed a similar move to what he did to Blake and Chie. Swinging her back and into Linne as the other girl got back up, causing them to crash into each other and skid back into the wall. As Ruby was distracted both by the pain in her body and by the sight of her friends getting flung back like ragdolls, she didn't register Yuzuriha's warning in time.

"RUBY! LOOK-" her warning came too late as Ruby felt a presence behind her. a hand quickly wrapped around her throat, lifting her up into the air. Another hand yanking Cresent Rose out of her hands and tossing it to the ground with a loud clatter. Her feet dangled above the ground as her airways were getting restricted.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, this is why you don't let kids fight." Hazama said cooly. Linne got up from her crash with Kokonoe with a grunt and glared at him.

"Do anything, and I'll snap her cute little neck in two." Hazama said. Ruby gasped for air as Hazama briefly tightened his grip.

"Hazama, why?" Ruby croaked out, as she pulled at his hand. This wasn't the one who helped her back then. He seemed so nice, was it truly that easy for him to act?

"You poor innocent, ignorant child. I only helped you back then because I didn't want to be on the receiving end of that scythe you cuddle with. Besides, I have been itching for a fight. However, it was a one time thing, while your skills are impressive for someone your age, you are still a child." Linne tried to slowly get up only for Hazama to snap his neck in her direction . Quickly tightening his grip on Ruby again, causing her to gulp. Linne froze in place, if looks could kill, her glare would've killed Hazama and Terumi ten times over.

"I said don't move. Even trapped in a little body won't stop immortals from breaking the rules." Hazama sighed.

"No matter, considering I want to avoid some unnecessary squabbling. How about we make a deal?" Hazama asked, Kokonoe glared at him.

"And what kind of deal does a bastard like you have to offer?" Kokonoe hissed.

"Simple, we trade. Give me back our boy Hyde, and I'll let go of Miss Rose." Hazama suggested, Ruby croaked under his grip. Yuzuriha stayed where she was and instinctively held Hyde's form closer to her. His breathing was more steady now, he was just sleeping.

"Don't, I'm not, letting that, happen..." Ruby gasped, Hazama raised an eyebrow.

"Much like a selfless hero in the books. You're willing to give your life on a gamble with the most impossible odds. This is why a child like you shouldn't be messing around in the adults' affairs. How about this, I take Hyde Kido, and I wipe you and your teammates memories? You won't remember anything about the Phantom Field, and I still have a one-way ticket back to your home of Remnant. Your lives will be unaltered, and not get mixed up in all the adult business, you will return back to the children you're supposed to be. What do you think Miss Rose?" Hazama asked.

Ruby didn't know what to think, or even if she wanted to think. Everything was a blur, everything seemed off. She glanced over at Hyde's form being protectively cradled by Yuzuriha's arms. He looked so, defenseless, dressed in nothing but that white robe, thin, and pale. He wasn't like the Hyde she met in the Phantom Field. Not to mention how important he was to the people around him. She didn't want to die, she didn't want to make her father, Uncle Qrow, her sister, suffer, she doesn't want to vanish like her mother. Yet, it wouldn't be right just to let them have Hyde again, not after they spent over a month trying to find him. What could she do?

"Accept it." Kokonoe's voice broke through the tense air bluntly.

"What?" Linne breathed, Yuzuriha looked at Kokonoe with a confused and horrified look. Ruby felt confused herself. What?

"It's an unfavorable situation, but either way Relius and Terumi need Hyde alive. Ruby Rose however, Relius wouldn't have a use or an experiment to perform on her. These are our two choices; either we sacrifice Ruby in order to save Hyde, one person dies so the other can live. Or, we let them have Hyde and save Ruby, one person is taken away so the other can go free, in short, they're both alive. It's up to Rose to decide whether or not she wants her team and herself to continue to be wrapped in this mess." Kokonoe said, she hated negotiating with someone like Hazama. She hated having to give Hyde back, but it's the best case scenario, they can plan another rescue mission at some point.

"But didn't you say that letting them use his power could spell death for this world?!" Linne exclaimed, utterly baffled by Kokonoe's response. She can't be serious, can she? As much as she didn't want Ruby to die, surely there was another way than just accepting a deal from that shady bastard. Hazama raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh? So you already figured it out. That we planned on using his power to help achieve the Imperator's goal? To replace the need for the Azure Grimoire. Relius already found many similarities between his energy and that of the Black Beast, not to mention how his weapon is in so many ways like a Nox Nyctores." Hazama said.

Yuzuriha watched as the scene unfolded before her, still having a death grip on Hyde's form. she needed to do something, surely they can figure something out. She may not have much time, but she wasn't a guardian for show.

"Just wait here for a little bit Hyde." Yuzuriha whispered softly as she gently released Hyde and layed him down on the ground. She slowly stood up, trying not to catch their attention. With a breath she grabbed her katana.

"Second form..." Yuzuriha said to herself. She readied herself.

"Bloom!" In a flash, Yuzuriha vanished, and Hazama was hit in his side hard, he let out a grunt and dropped Ruby. She quickly scrambled away and grabbed Crescent Rose again. Hazama looked up to see Yuzuriha with her sword sheathed again, ready for another strike.

"Ah, so the shrine maiden finally joins the fight as well." Hazama said with a smile, he had hardly any time to react as Linne launched at him with her blades. He barely dodged in time as the smaller blade cut off a bit of his hair. Kokonoe wasted none as she was also on him and managed to kick him in the chest.

"Ruby! Get Hyde out of here, at least somewhere safe." Yuzuriha said, Ruby wanted to protest, but considering the circumstances, even she knew they didn't have the time, even with her semblance. She nodded, tucked her weapon away and in a flash of rose petals, vanished from the scene with Hyde.

"Well then, don't hold back now." Hazama said, Linne, Kokonoe, and Yuzuriha got ready to fight. Suddenly Hazama clicked something near his ear, a communicator.

"What? You can't handle them or something? Oh, I see, well that is mighty interesting. Certainly." Hazama said, smiling even bigger.

"Well ladies, I'm afraid I must depart, Relius needs some help in some testing. I'll be taking my leave." Hazama said, he dropped something and in a blinding flash resonated throughout the halls and they covered their eyes instinctively to protect themselves from the flash. Once the lights dimmed, Hazama was gone.

"Damn it! That bastard. Yuzuriha, go after and make sure Ruby gets out safe with Hyde, see if you can check on others if you see them. We'll go after the bastard." Kokonoe said.

"Can you be sure we can beat them? I mean, all four of us had trouble with him alone. As much as I want to say we can defeat him, it doesn't fall in our favor." Linne said, her body still aching from the fight.

"Trust me, I have my doubts, but it's not like we have much of a choice, fighting him head on. He's a lot stronger than I thought, I'm afraid our mission may have to change, Relius is a strong opponent, not to mention his doll, Ignis, that thing is powerful, and no doubt has been upgraded. At the very least, we need to make sure Ragna and his Azure Grimoire are not defeated and taken. This rescue mission has turned into a survival mission." Kokonoe explained, Linne sighed, she was right, their opponents are powerful, and if they can even beat him, Relius would be a whole other problem.

"Alright, let's go then." Linne said as the three split, Yuzuriha running in the direction of Ruby and Hyde. Kokonoe and Linne ran in the direction of where Hazama ran off.

#######################################

Chie jumped as Yosuke launched at her with his kunai. Chie tried to punch him, only for him to dodge with illogical speed and shot to her side, in and instant, Chie felt an immense pressure and pain in her side as she was hurled across the hall.

"Chie!" Yu called out as Yosuke changed targets and changed focus to him. The dead look in his eyes make Yu very uncomfortable, he should never have that look.

"Persona!" Yu shouted as Izagani materialized once again and shot at his friend. A small attack should be enough to knock him out. Yosuke dodged the attack and shot a kunai through the persona as it quickly vanished from reality. Blake ran ahead and threw her grapple at him, trying to tangle him up. He quickly jump up with reflexes Yu never thought Yosuke would bother learning. He quickly dodged the grapple and threw a kunai at Blake with scary accuracy, her having barely enough time as the weapon grazed her shoulder. Blake ran up and used her semblance as a diversion. When he was distracted by the copy, she ducked and elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to skid back. Chie ran past her in an attempt to knock Yosuke unconscious. She charged forward and threw of series of punches that would weaken and hopefully knock Yosuke out. He blocked each blow with his arms and weapons, throwing off the uniform cloak to distract her, when she was distracted from the sudden flare of black, he tripped her and threw her back a good few feet. Yu joined in, and tried to punch him, he didn't want to use his katana in fear he might injure him. It would be another minute or so until he could summon Izanagi again.

"Partner! You need to wake up!" Yu shouted as they grappled with each other. Yosuke was able to grab his arm and threw him down the hall, landing near Chie. Blake ran up, her grapple open once again, she made another diversion and managed to kick Yosuke in the back. He recoiled, but responded, he turned around and swung his leg, tripped Blake a bit. She rebounded and propelled herself off the walls, charging at Yosuke, she shot out her grapple in an attempt to restrain him. Yosuke moved his form and avoided the ribbon, he leaped up and maneuvered around the grapple. He jumped and found himself above her. Blake's eyes wided as he jumped and slashed at her waist with the tip of his kunai. A small spurt of blood stained her clothing as she held the wound and landed. He managed to cut the left side of her waist.

"Those moves, he is intending to kill us. We need to be careful." Blake said, as she blocked another attack with her wider sword. Yu sheathed his katana, Yosuke was still human after all, just, not himself. Just blunt force should be enough, Chie knew that too. The two of them charged forward, Blake saw and followed suit, even with her injury, she ran up and with Chie, grabbed Yosuke in a grapple each of them holding onto his arms with a death grip. They forced him down as he struggled in their grasps. Yu walked up to him and looked at his glowing green tinted eyes. Even through whatever mind control Hazama and this 'Phantom' have put on his friend, he could still see fear and concern flash behind the screen.

"Yosuke, whatever it is, you need to fight it, I, no, we believe in you, remember partner?" Yu asked, Yosuke just looked at him, his face still mainly emotionless except for the angered and strained look from struggling against Chie and Blake's grasp.

"Yosuke... you idiot... come back..." Chie strained as she held onto his arm, the material of the NOL uniform felt so foreign and not normal for her, it wasn't something Yosuke would wear for sure.

"Yosuke, wake up partner." Yu said as he continued to stare in Yosuke's eyes, he saw something. Very briefly, only a flash.

"Guys...please...run..." Yosuke's strained out before going limp. His eyes opened once again, this time, glowing more vibrantly and his eyes now completely opaque green. With a swift movement he forced himself back, the unexpected movement made Chie and Blake loosen their grip enough for Yosuke to yank his arms out and kick the girls away. He rasied his kunai and quickly rebounded, making a slash at Yu, he quickly blocked the weapon with his sword the two lock in on each other and Yosuke's face was once again emotionless. the two exchanged blows as Chie and Blake looked for an opening. Once Yu put enough distance between them, Chie summoned her persona and it shot forward with a trail of ice. It managed to nail a blow in Yosuke's side, sending him into the wall. Yosuke stood up,one could say he was unaffected, but the wounds on his body and tattered uniform said otherwise.

"This, that mind control. Hazama doesn't care, he ordered him to eliminate us, and he won't stop even if his life is on the line. He may be weaker now, but he won't stop and only worsen his wounds. We need to either find a way to restrain him, or run." Blake said as she readied her grapple. Those were their options, hopefully restraining him now would make things easier. Only for Yosuke to stop, his body stiffened, like he was a statue. He stood for a moment before turning and running away. Much to their confusion.

"Hey! Yosuke! Get back here!" Chie quickly gave chase, Blake and Yu following close behind. Yu hopes that Kanji's group is having better luck.

####################

Ragna grunted as Relius used a mechanical arm to send a punch into his gut. Ragna swung his sword and blocked another attack.

"Give it up already you bastard!" Ragna yelled, as he attacked him. Relius dodging and blocking each attack with minor difficulties.

"I will not, my research is almost complete. I won't let you brats get in the way. " Relius said, he summoned a drill and nearly put a hole in Ragna if he didn't block with his sword. Ragna shoved the drill back, causing Relius to stumble as they continued to exchange blows.

"Kid! Remember, that stuff is as dangerous as a sword, be careful!" Gordeau shouted as Yang and himself dodged the attacks Ignis wss making. Gordeau never thought he would see a machine using Void Red. This was bad, considering the size of her claws, they were stuck playing a game of cat and mouse as obstacles around them keep getting shredded to bits from the ribbons of energy.

I got it! We can't lose here! We need to find a weak spot." Yang called out as she shot a few blasts from her gauntlets before jumping back to avoid the attack.

###############

**Holy moly that was almost 6k words O_o**

***Look at the headdress of Yachiyo from the mobile game Magia Record, that's basically what it looks like.**

**I forget how many words fight scenes can take up. Hope you guys enjoyed part 2 of the rescue operation. Let me know what you think and if there are any character power edits I need to make for things to be more accurate. Also for a potential question thar may come up since I mentioned it here (kinda) the event also takes place in a sort of merging of the 'true' Blazblue ending in Cross Tag and the 'bad' ending. Just as a heads up if anyone is wondering. Also, holy crap I had a lot of fun with Terumi/Hazama fight. considering it's like 65% of the chapter I think. More things will be expanded on next week, and me trying to piece together as much logic I can for the scenarios I have. Thank you for reading, and I would love to hear what you think ;) **

**Updated playlist: **

**Kanji, Kajun, Yukiko, and Weiss vs Naoto/Omicron-14: Imperial Code (Noel vs Jin theme) **

**OR**

**Survivor (Fanmade Nu-13 theme) **

**Ruby, Linne, and Kokonoe vs Terumi/Hazama: Gluttony Fang (Hazama's theme) **

**OR**

**Confliction (Fanmade Kazuma theme) **

**Yu, Blake, and Chie vs Yosuke: Silent Scream (Terumi's theme) **

**OR **

**Effort (Fanmade Battle theme) **

**Ragna, Yang, and Gordeau vs Relius and Ignis: Plastic Night (Relius' theme) or Rushing Heart (Gordeau's theme) **

**########## **

**For some reason, the site does not like direct links, so look for the themes, they go by the title i mentioned and look for the youtube channel '****Kiku Ichimonji' **

**I seriously recommend checking out that channel's other fanmade themes, cause more will be appearing in the playlist. Hope you enjoy :) see you guys next time. Also I personally see 'Confliction' as a very good, if not perfect 'Ruby vs Hazama' theme, it just feels like it fits. It fits so well in my brain. **


	10. Chapter 10: Back and Forth

Chapter 10: Back and Forth

Ruby ran as fast as she could down the twisting corridors of the hidden lab. Holding onto Hyde's form tightly, once her semblance gave out, she skidded to a stop and sat down, leaning against the wall.

"Guys..." Ruby sighed as she leaned her head on the wall, she took a deep breath and looked down at Hyde. It still bothered her, he looked sickly pale, but his breathing was stable, at least he looked peaceful despite the situation. Her arm still hurt from where Ouroboros cut her. Who knew things could go so wrong, so quickly. Blake and her group ran in with him, considering how she sounded, she didn't sound injured, she couldn't get a hold of Weiss or Yang though. Yang she's not surprised, causing a giant distraction and most likely fighting with Ragna and Gordeau at this moment. Weiss though, she wasn't responding, no one from her group was responding. A sinking feeling fell in her chest as she looked around.

With a deep breath, she stood up, holding Hyde, she began to walk down the quiet halls. She needed to find a way out of here, that was her mission. After she safely got Hyde outside of the lab and hidden away, she can come back and help if she needs to. She still couldn't get her mind off Hazama, he was like Roman, just more messed up. she nearly died to him if it weren't for Yuzuriha. She can't imagine how badly he must've hurt Hyde, or anyone else in this world. She glanced at Hyde again and let out a sad chuckle.

"You saved me, now I'm saving you I guess." Ruby sighed, recalling when they first met. Ever since they got back from the Phantom Field, and Ruby talking about Hyde to Blake and Weiss, Yang overheard about Ruby's rescue and teased her about it.

_Few months ago..._

_"Honestly, that whole place was a nightmare. Not only did I have to deal with brutes, I couldn't hold my own with that one opponent if Hyde didn't show up." Weiss sighed as she recalled her battle with Azreal, as much as Hyde did lack in formal training, he held his own and pretty much saved her life. Even the freaking System was relieved that Hyde showed up. _

_"Hyde? As in the boy with a red sword and blonde, black hair?" Blake asked, looking up from her book. _

_"Yeah, I'm sad to say I couldn't hold my own, thankfully he showed up, quite a nice boy too. Why?" Weiss asked. _

_"Hyde, I fought him, he had a keystone on him and the rules we were given said we needed to take keystones in order to return home. He doesn't seem that much older than us." Blake said, she felt a little bad about that now, maybe she wouldn't have fought if she was with another teammate, despite how friendly Makoto was. Hyde didn't seem much older than them either. _

_"Orie told me he's sixteen. He's actually younger than us, it's impressive for his skills and not to have any formal training. Apparently, he hasn't had that sword for long, or the powers he had, only a few months at best. It's impressive at how much he adapted. " Weiss said, Orie spoke highly of him when they were partnered together. _

_"Really?" Blake asked surprised, that was definitely unexpected, she thought he was the same age as them. Now she knows why he looks a bit younger. _

_"Who're you talking about?" Ruby asked as she got away from her scroll, she leaned over her bed side to talk with her teammates. _

_"Hyde Kido, someone we met in the Phantom Field during that cursed tournament." Weiss said, Ruby perked up. _

_"You guys met him too? I met him as well, his sword looked so cool! And he pulled it out of his hand! He also tried to save me when he said it looked like I got attacked. " Ruby said. _

_"That makes two of us then I supposed." Weiss sighed, Yang happened to walk into the room and overheard Ruby's next comment. _

_"I wish Hyde was here, I still have so many questions for him. His sword looked awesome and that energy he blasted out was so cool." Ruby said, Yang smirked as she walked up to her starry eyed sister. _

_" Hyde? Does my little sis have a crush?" Yang teased with a smirk, Ruby instantly turned as red as her cape as she turned around. _

_"Crush?! No, not at all! It's only his weapon!" Ruby spluttered as she tried to regain her composure. _

_Present..._

Ruby shook her head as she recalled the memory, smiling a bit. They haven't traveled far, and she can't spot the exitway anywhere, did she pass it in a panic? She looked around and suddenly heard footsteps, loud, metallic footsteps, she quickly ducked past one of the turns and carefully peeked her head out. She saw a woman coated in armor, her face hidden by a smooth visor and swords levitating behind her. She wanted to ask about the swords, but circumstances reveal that is most likely a foe. She was getting closer and Ruby looked around, seeing a door, she opened, ran inside, and closed it, all the while never loosening her grip on Hyde. He was a lot lighter than she expected, but that could've been due to what happened to him. While she was in here, might as well look for a map or anything that might help them.

She gently placed Hyde on the ground and looked. It was a room full of laptops, crates, and a tv monitor. She rummaged through the crates only to find nothing. Next was the computers, most of the stuff was mumbo jumbo she didn't understand, sciency stuff and all. She saw some unique weapon designs, if it weren't for the situation at hand, she would love to look at them more. she searched through more files and stumbled upon audio logs.

Ruby gulped, but clicked on them, hoping it would hold something of value. Surely they would help, she moved and tried again to find a map. A familiar voice sent shivers down her spine as it echoed from the audio.

_Entry Log #1: Examination Void _

_Hazama: Mister Clover wishes for me to log in the first one since I brought him his test subject. _

_Hazama: Anyway, I have retrieved Hyde Kido, he is a sixteen year old boy from another world. His powers come from an internal energy known as EXS, and can only be obtained by being bitten and surviving an attack by a creature known as a Void. His is surprisingly powerful, and is known as Void Red, a pure version of EXS that is stronger than normal. With him is the sword known as the Indulgence of Insulation, a sword that can tear apart the reality of things, being the only weapon in his world that can kill immortals, permanently. _

_Hazama: While he possesses great power, he is rather inexperienced, barely having any combat training and only having that power for a few months. His energy is planned to be extracted, despite wanting me to do this annoying entry, he is keeping me in the dark. He hasn't informed me of how he's going to extract his energy. _

The log ended, and another one started up, a deeper voice echoing now.

_Entry Log #2: Examination Void _

_Relius: It's been three days since Hyde Kido has been placed into extraction. The amount of EXS being extracted is surprisingly high, despite his comatose state. His energy is acting very violently whenever concentrated. Containment chambers have been modified to swirl the energy as to not let a reaction take place. _

_Relius: As for project Rem Gravibus, the study of the Insulator has provided significant information. The replica already is progressing nicely and my theory about the sword and voids is proving true. They may not be complete, but they are still souls. The new weapon is also reacting nicely with the EXS energy it's being exposed to. Just a few more steps, and soon it will be just like the Insulator, an Immortal Killer._

The log ended there and cut off. Ruby finally found another map and spread it on the floor. She located where she was, she sighed with relief seeing that she was closer by. She listened to the door and made sure no one was outside, hearing nothing, she opened the door. She peeked out and saw no one, the armored girl nowhere in sight. She gently scooped up Hyde again and made her way out.

Why? Why was Hazama so cruel like that? Even saying that erasing their memories was a good thing. As much as she wanted to make it home to her family and friends for the festival, knowing she abandoned someone she called a dear friend left a bad taste in her mouth. Heroes don't run, they don't give up. She wasn't going to do what heroes didn't, she wasn't going to be a coward. Especially when Hyde needed her, he helped her out so readily and kindly that she can't leave him behind. Not until she at least returns the favor. Even if they didn't know each other for long, she knows he was a good person, Blake and Weiss' interacts with him solidified that reason. He wasn't like Hazama, he is someone who would never be like Hazama. Once she got Hyde out of danger, she'll go find Weiss and make sure her and her team are alright. Their radio silence was worrying her.

She made her way to the exit, as she was about to go up, another metal slab slid past the door. Locking it shut, Ruby looked down the other corridors and metal doors slammed shut. Suddenly Hazama's voice echoed through the lab.

_"ATTENTION, my dear ladies and gents, I'm afraid certain sections of the lab are to be locked off. Be sure to head to the main lab for a show." _

Ruby groaned, looking at the available halls, they only lead back deeper into the lab. she really didn't have a choice here. She looked at the corridors and ran down one. Hoping she'll meet some of her friends instead of enemies. Besides keeping Hyde safe, she needed to find Weiss, and make sure she's okay.

* * *

Yu and his team ran down the hall in pursuit of Yosuke, who was weaving through the corridors as the doors closed. What was going on? This didn't feel right, Yosuke was suddenly ordered to retreat to who knows where and doors around them sudden were being locked. Hazama's voice echoing through the speakers did not help him. Blake jumped up and shot out her weapon, launching it at Yosuke's retreating form. He turned and grabbed the ribbon, yanking it so it pulled her down and remained running forward. Blake quickly rebounded and continued running, trying to find a way to stop him.

"Kanji! Yukiko! Come in!" Yu said into his communicator, he was just met with silence. That left a bad feeling in his gut, both of them should be fine, did something happen? What about Naoto? did they wake her up?

"I can't get in touch with Weiss or Kajun, I don't even know where they are now. If they are not responding, our best guess is they are incapacitated, either wounded or unconscious." Blake said, Yu sighed, he needed to make a decision quickly. He's not sure if his friends are simply unconscious, or possibly mortally wounded. He can't just focus on one.

"Blake, please go find Weiss, Kajun, Kanji, and Yukiko. The two of us will chase after Yosuke." Yu said, Blake looked at him surprised.

"And why me?" Blake asked, Yu turned to face her.

"Because Weiss is your teammate, not to mention you seem to have better navigation than us. You'll be able to find them quicker." Yu said, Blake nodded before running down a different hall. The two persona users continued their pursuit of Yosuke. The auburn teen never slowing down.

Yu got a determined look. He's going to break Yosuke free of whatever mind control they put on him, Yosuke was strong enough to give them a warning. He's not leaving without his partner, not now, what kind of leader leaves a comrade behind?

* * *

Ragna yelled as he launched another attack against Relius. The scientist simply smiling as he dodged the attacks and countered with his mechanical arms. Ragna swung down his sword, Relius sidestepped and quickly kicked Ragna in the stomach to force him back. He recovered enough to dodge Relius' follow up strike and managed to punch him in the back.

"Stay still you bastard!" Ragna yelled as he swung his sword down again. He was about to land a blow if a form quickly shot under it and blocked the blade with a knife.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, oh Raggy, getting rusty?" Hazama smirked as Ragna's scowl turned darker. The glint of hatred and murder evident in his eyes.

"Like hell you asshole. I'm going to kill you!" Ragna yelled as he swung at the green haired man. Engaging in a one on two fight.

On the other side of the large room, Gordeau and Yang continued to dodge Ignis' attacks while trying to look for a weak spot.

"Damn it! She's really tough, my blasts aren't even leaving dents!" Yang said as she jumped and sent a flurry of shotgun blasts at Ignis. Gordeau grabbed her by the arm and yanked her out of the way of a Void Red attack, the energy continuing to flow like long ribbons from and through Ignis' claws.

"How did he even do that? Where is it even coming from?" Gordeau wondered aloud, the amount of Void Red Ignis was producing seemed like more than her body could even hold, but the ribbons still flowed, deep and long, it's like there was no end to her energy. Whoever Relius Clover was, he seemed to step past boundaries, even Hilda wouldn't cross.

"Void Red and the energy of the Black Beast are more similar than you think." Gordeau jumped back as a metallic fist shot past him. A large piece of magenta fabric flashing past his vision.

"Where is-?" Yang quickly looked to see Ragna swinging his sword with bursts of dark energy flying in chaotic bursts as Hazama jumped and dodged, with Ouroboros flashing brightly as black and green reacted with the other energy.

"What the hell?" Gordeau dodged as another arm shot past him.

"So you're Gordeau the Greedy Harvester? Hazama told me quite a bit about you. Everything Hyde knew of you at least." Relius said, Gordeau swung his scythe at the male, only for another arm to launch from under his cloak, quickly blocking and gripping the scythe. Gordeau scowled as the arm held the blade tightly.

"And what does it matter to you, huh?" Gordeau asked as he pulled at his weapon, but the grip was firm, neither of them were moving. Relius simply smiled.

"Oh, plenty, after all, you're part of Amnesia, are you not?" Relius asked, Gordeau didn't like the energy coming from the man, it seemed, unnatural. His soul also, it seemed unsettling.

"Hey!" Gordeau turned to see Yang blast at them, aiming at Relius. Her attacks were quickly blocked as Ignis jumped in front of her, slashing at her. Her Aura glowing brightly as it protected her from the attack, although as the red energy flashed across her being, she felt her Aura deplete and the energy being knocked out her body. She flew back and landed further away.

"Keep her busy Ignis, but don't kill her just yet." Relius said, he turned his attention back to Gordeau.

"Now, tell me, the woman you work for, Hilda, she wishes to become a Re-Birth using the Void Red energy. Just what do you know of that energy? Besides it's ability to kill immortals." Relius asked, Gordeau gritted his teeth. With a flash of purple energy, his scythe warped out of reality, changing positions, Gordeau shifted and his right hand was filled with purple energy. Launching at Relius, Gordeau unleashed a slash full of purple energy shaped into small, long, sharp claws. Relius was taken by surprise and jumped back as the energy sliced his right arm.

"Seems like you don't know much about me. Don't rely on Hyde's memories, he only sees what we want him to see. I never pulled that trick on him, so you didn't know it exists. As for him, I don't give a damn about his energy. What I do mind is some sicko like you doing whatever the hell they want to people. Experimentation, tests, all that shit gets on my nerves. So I'm taking you down. " Gordeau said, his left eye glowing red. Relius looked excited as he readied himself.

"Then let's fight, Reaper."

Yang jumped back as the giant robot slashed at her. Her aura was taking damage and due to that, her semblance wasn't working too well considering any input might actually damage her. She really hoped Ruby was doing better an they are. She tripped backward over something and fell, just as a blade of red energy surged towards her. A hand suddenly grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way. She felt another wave of energy fly past her as Ragna blocked a blow from Hazama.

"Keep your head in the game kid." Ragna said, Yang stood up and they stood back to back. Each of them facing their respective enemy.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Yang said as she reloaded her gauntlets.

* * *

Weiss groaned as she opened her eyes, what just? she sprung up, Naoto! They were being attacked, Naoto was controlled somehow, a fash of light. She turned her head and saw Kajun on the floor, trying to sit up, her breathing was heavy.

"Kajun! Are you okay?" Weiss asked as she stood up albeit wobbly. Yukiko and Kanji also just beginning to stir.

"I'm fine, thank you Weiss. Relius gave Naoto something that acted like a stun grenade. That blast had enough force to knock out enough air to make us unconscious and a flashing sound at the pitch needed to also distort our senses. She was completely under his control no doubt." Kajun said, Kanji finally came back to his senses.

"Naoto! Where's Naoto?!" Kanji said as he shot up.

"Gone, probably to where Relius is to fight Ragna, Yang, and Gordeau. How long were we even out?" Kajun said, she pulled out the communicator and called Kokonoe. All the while turning on the computer to look at the files on Naoto's condition.

"Professor, this is Kajun, Naoto has been turned into a cyborg by Relius, she's estimated to be 75% machine. He's trying to turn her into something like Ignis, but she is styled after the Murakumo Units. We were taken down, she may be headed to Relius' position." Kajun said, the comm was put on speaker as Kokonoe answered.

_" Shit, that bastard has no restrictions when it comes to his experiments. We already had to deal with Terumi, he got away, but Rose managed to run away with Kido. Yuzuriha is currently going after her to make sure they get out safe. Linne and I are currently heading towards Relius' position. You three try to connect with Narukami's group and ask about progress, if they found Hanamura, tell them to leave the lab, once both Kido and Hanamura are safely extracted, we can focus our efforts on getting Shirogane." _

Kajun responded affirmatively before switching.

"Narukami, this is Kajun. Naoto has been experimented and modified, he turned her into a cyborg 75% machine. She was completely under his control and highly dangerous. I'd say we're lucky not to have been killed. Have you guys found Hanamura?" Kajun called.

_"Faycott-san. We found Yosuke, but he was under some sort of mind control. Naoto's been turned into a cyborg? We'll be careful, we're chasing after Yosuke. Belladonna is currently trying to find you." _

"Understood, we're currently still in the lab where Naoto was found, we're going to check and go after Naoto. Most likely she's going to Relius' location to fight the others." Kajun said.

"_Got it, is Kanji and Yukiko okay?" _

"We're fine senpai, don't worry about us." Kanji said, standing up. Yukiko also standing up.

_"Alright then, you guys stay safe." _

Just as the call ended, a familiar dark figure opened the door.

"Blake! Are you alright?" Weiss asked as the fanus took a breath.

"I should be asking you that, you guys have been silent. Ruby is set to get Hyde out of here while Kokonoe and Linne chase after Hazama." Blake said, the doors closing around them made it easier for her to find them, but she can't help but feel like it was done for something else.

"We should get going then. Let me download some of his files to examine later." Kajun said as she plugged in a hardrive.

* * *

Ruby ran as she looked down the narrowed tunnels. Still clinging to Hyde tightly. Her paths were constantly getting limited as the doors closed. Where was she even going? She lost track as she was just looking for places to run.

"Ruby!" Ruby skidded to a stop and turned around, seeing Yuzuriha trying to catch up to her.

"Yuzuriha, what are you doing here? Did Linne and Kokonoe defeat Hazama?" Ruby asked, the maroon haired girl took a few breaths as she caught up and stopped running.

"No, he ran off shortly after you did. Saying he needed to aid Relius with something. Kokonoe asked me to find you to make sure you're okay, the others just radioed in, Weiss and her team are fine, but Naoto's been turned into a cyborg. We're all heading to the center lab to aid Ragna, Yang, and Gordeau. They'll need our help, all the exits have been locked shut, we don't really have an option." Yuzuriha said sadly, Ruby looked down at Hyde, he was still sleeping, taking him to where Relius and Hazama were was the last thing she wanted to do. Yet, it seemed like the only option.

"How is he doing?" Yuzuriha asked as she looked down at Hyde. His sleeping form reminded her from when he was younger, still a small kid who would pass out after each training session.

_A seven-year-old Hyde wandered into the Dojo after training, his small bamboo practice sword fell to his side as he dramatically flopped down onto the cool tatami mats. Yuzuriha's older sister, Hiroha, giggled as she watched the young boy flop over. Not long after the boy flopped over, a ten year old Yuzuriha walked in and looked at him. Kneeling down to be closer. _

_"Hyde... You can't be tired already." Yuzuriha whined slightly, hearing her sister's giggles. She looked at him more, taking in his pale skin and oddly two toned hair. It was almost a year since Hyde joined the dojo for training and the two quickly became good friends. Hyde would not stop following her around and she loved having someone look up to her. Some of the faces he would make were adorable. _

_"Calm down Yuzuriha. He's tired, he is still just a kid. A six year difference isn't nothing." Hiroha said as she placed a hand on her shoulder. She saw that Hyde quickly fell asleep. Hiroha gently picked him up and moved him to a couch. _

_"You kids have lots of energy. No doubt in about half an hour he'll be ready to jump up and practice with you again." Hiroha said. _

"He's alright, he seems to just be asleep now. It's amazing that nothing woke him up yet." Ruby said, as much as she was relieved that Hyde seemed fine, she can't help but remember stories of people going sleep, but end up slipping into comas.

"That's good, let's get going then." Yuzuriha looked up before looking back at Ruby, who was still.

"Hey Rubes, you okay?" Yuzuriha asked, Ruby blinked back to reality when she was called by her nickname.

"Yuzuriha, will everyone actually be okay?" Ruby asked, she didn't know why she asked Yuzuriha, probably because she was the only other person with her at the moment.

"i'm not sure, I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared. None of us wanted to be in a situation like this. That's why everyone is working hard to get past it. I'm not sure if you've been on missions like this before on your world, but these kind of things can happen. But, if we work together and smile, no doubt we'll win." Yuzuriha said with a smirk as she looked at Ruby.

"Right, let's go then. We'll defeat them and take everyone home." Ruby said with a new found determination.

"I'll take down any possible foes, you hold onto Hyde tightly alright?" Yuzuriha asked, Ruby nodded and the two ran forward.

* * *

Linne ran down, further and further, Ragna's and Gordeau's shouts and energy becoming more and more audible and visible. She was close to them, she hopes whatever Kokonoe had planned works since they separated.

_Kokonoe and Linne were running down the several halls as doors around them closed. Just as Linne jumped past a door, it slammed shut, with Kokonoe on the other side. _

_"Kokonoe." Linne ran to the metal door and knocked, Kokonoe's voice sounded from the other side. _

_"I'm fine Linne, you continue to go after Terumi. I'm going to find something that might turn the tides. I'll find another way there." Kokonoe said. _

Linne hopes whatever she had planned works. She saw an open doorway and a flash of red and green energy. She ran in and saw Ragna block an attack from Hazama. Seeing the green haired monster occupied, she ran in, both of her blades and legs fueled with EXS and hit Hazama in his side, sending him back.

"Half-pint? I take it you guys already found Hyde." Ragna said, Linne readied her blade again.

"Yes, Ruby and Yuzuriha are hopefully seeing to his extraction, if the exits weren't locked off anyway." Linne said, deciding now is not the time to complain about his nickname for her. She looked at Hazama as he stood up and recovered.

"Ah, so little miss immortal decided to follow me and show up? I'm flattered, but I'm afraid that our power source will not be leaving the facility, all the exits have already been locked." Hazama said with a smirk.

"None of your 'friends' will be leaving this place as a matter of fact." Hazama said, with a snap of his fingers, a flash of black ran past their vision, Linne barely blocked the kunai with Nameless in time.

"What the hell?" Ragna said as he punched Yosuke away from Linne.

"Indeed, he's completely obedient to me now." Hazama said, ready to launch Ouroboros again.

"Persona!" Hazama was interrupted when Yu's voice echoed from another corridor and Izanagi launched at him. Hazama dodged the attack and landed further away.

"Hanamura! Snap out!" Chie yelled as Yu and her came into view.

"Well I guess we need to fucking improvise now." Ragna sighed as he readied his blade.

"Chie, Linne, can you guys help Yang and Gordeau? The two of us can handle them." Yu said.

"You better not die on us." Linne said as they left to help the others.

"You say that, better not slow me down." Ragna said.

"No worries, I'll hold my own." Yu said as he drew his katana, their key would to take down Hazama first, then restrain Yosuke.

"Well then, don't bore me." Hazama said, snapping his fingers and Yosuke got ready for battle. Unbeknownst to them a metallic figure waited in the shadows above.

"Persona!" Yang fell back as a flurry of yellow and ice slammed into Ignis. Tomoe attacked Ignis and pushed the purple robot further away.

"Need a hand?" Chie asked with a smirk.

"Eh, appreciated, but I was holding my own just fine." Yang said jokingly.

Linne launched herself at Relius and hit him in the back causing him to skid and she landed near Gordeau.

"Never thought I'd be fighting alongside you Princess." Gordeau chuckled, Linne hardened her stare.

"Likewise Harvester." Linne said.

"Another Immortal, this will bring the old days back." Relius smirked.

* * *

Ruby and Yuzuriha ran down the corridors as the sounds of fighting grew louder and louder.

"Ruby!" Ruby turned her head and saw some familiar faces.

"Weiss! Blake! You guys are okay!" Ruby said.

"I see you managed to secure your target. Our tried to kill us." Weiss sighed, crossing arms.

"She won't once we figure out how to fix her." Kanji said, he still couldn't believe Naoto was mostly machine now, it seemed like it was all a bad dream, at least he wished.

"Let's not wait any longer than. The others need our help." Kajun said, the newly formed group ran towards the room. Once they reached there, Yu was kicked down as Yosuke shot at him, Ragna was covered in blows from Hazama's weapons. Yang and Chie seemed worn and cuts covered their body as Void Red energy flowed from Ignis' claws. Both Gordeau and Linne were being overwhelmed by Relius' barrage of attacks.

Before any of them could start an attack a voice shouted.

"RED LOTUS!" A wave of Void Red energy crashed through the walls and hit all three bad guys, sending them further away from their opponents. A flurry of energy landed before them and a figure emerged from it.

An odd, black katana wss held with glowing red lines etched into it, looking eerily similar to the Immortal Killer. The person holding it was a boy with dark crimson hair and blackened ends. Wearing a wore uniform without the excess belts around his waist.

"Hyde?" Ruby asked, still cradling the boy in her arms. he was here, but that's impossible. It looked like him, almost exactly like him. But, how?

"Looks like it worked." A voice huffed, Kokonoe ran up to as they looked at the newcomer.

"Professor Kokonoe, who is that?" Kajun asked, Kokonoe's eyes never wavered from the person before saying.

"What I hope is our win, it's our only chance of getting them out of here. I Observed it, into this form. " Kokonoe said, the figure turned to face them his eyes a deep purple like the void energy Linne is familiar with.

"I'm not Hyde, I am his weapon."

"I am the Insulator."

* * *

**Okay, yes, what that ending was is exactly what you think it is. Now their existence is hopefully the only logic break I'll have in the story besides the success of Relius' experiments regarding the Insulator. This idea has never left my brain and I wanted to do something with it, however, if you guys feel like it seems a bit unnecessary, let me know before I go any further. **

**Also, yes, I'm messing with the ages of the UNIB characters, so here are the ages if anyone wants to use them considering most of them don't have confirmed ages. I'm just making a list, no one else besides Seth will be making an appearance in this story. **

**Hyde: 17**

**Yuzuriha: 19-20**

**Gordeau: 23**

**Linne: (physically) 11 **

**Orie: 16 **

**Seth: 15 **

**Carmine: 18**

**Hilda: 22 (I refuse to believe she's 19, I absolutely refuse) **

**I am so sorry for taking so long, turns out I don't have that much time anymore. The time I do have to write is at night, and sometimes I'm either passing out or brain dead when I attempt to write. **

**Anywho, sorry for taking so long. I'm not sure when the next one will be out considering how long this one took me. Thank you guys though for all the reviews. They mean a lot to me. **

**Also, special thanks to Mystech Master for all the info on Persona and Observation to help me with the story, I needed it. Especially when the wiki entries are so vague they are useless. You helped me think a lot on the different elements of this story and how they can be used. So, thank you very much. **

**And special thanks to fernandamichelleraya for leaving all the reviews and thoughts on the story. I'm definitely more motivated to do something with the Hazama and Ruby interaction now. Also, I can kinda imagine Ruby being the only person Hazama 'likes' considering their interaction in the game. As messed up as it is, it can be kinda hilarious if you mess with Hazama's goals a bit. I enjoy hearing what you have to say :) **

**Well, that's it for now, thank you everyone for reading and I'll see you next time (whenever that may be, hopefully soon. **

**Bye~ **


	11. Chapter 11: Insulator

Chapter 11: Insulator

Yang yelped as Chie pulled her away from flying debris as the red attack struck the room. Relius and Ignis went flying into different parts of the room. Linne and Gordeau covered their faces as the energy surged past them.

Ruby gripped onto Hyde tightly as Kokonoe stood beside them. The new figure now known as Insulator stood before them.

"The Insulator? But, how?" Linne breathed, the personified weapon took a breath and rested the sword on their shoulder.

"Don't worry, I still carry many of the ideals my wielder has." Insulator said, their purple eyes glowing.

"Kokonoe, how did you, do this?" Kajun asked, glancing at the beastkin.

"All factors were at play, use of souls, Insulator's transformation, Observation, and the use of Seithr." Kokonoe said.

* * *

_Earlier..._

_Kokonoe ran along the halls, following the route to the room where she needed to be. Most likely Relius and Hazama will overpower them, even with Ragna here, Hazama can pull his stupid move in order to drain everyone's energy. The collateral damage alone would harm everyone who wasn't from this world. Not to mention more susceptible to seithr poisoning. She found the room and opened the door. Closing it she sighed, hopefully this will work. She turned around and saw the Insulator, completely submerged in Void Red energy of which she redirected from the storage unit. In the other she saw the faux copy. Even without checking his notes, the energy coming off of the faux made it clear. _

_It was now a full Nox Nyctores. She doesn't know how they overcame the soul requirement, but that was a pure Nox Nyctores not an imitation. It was the real deal, she looked at the valve containing the energy and opened it. Void Red suddenly flooded the faux containment as well. She looked at the monitor and finish redirecting the energy. Soon both containments were filled with Void Red, swirling like a tornado angrily. She stopped the machine that forced the energy to move around and watched it smoke and slowly move within the container. Linne told her that if enough Void and EXS are in concentration, there's a possibility a Void will be produced. Her theory was that the soul in the faux weapon, and that the Void Red was being extracted from Hype himself, no doubt having fragmented copies of his soul or personality will affect how this 'void' would come about. With intense focus Kokonoe focused on the chambers as a low vibration emitted from the chambers. The energy swirled angrily as the Insulator pulsed a bright red from the center. A sudden wave of energy traveled through the room, the glass broke and the energy made Kokonoe cover herself to prevent getting hit by glass shards. _

_"You are the Indulgence of Insulation right?" Kokonoe asked loudly, her vision never wavering from the still raging tornado of Void Red. The Nox Nyctores copy was pulled from its container and pulled next to the Insulator . The two swords have been encased together in Void Red. Two purple eyes emerged from cloud and looked at Kokonoe, she never stopped looking, this was their only chance to survive, no doubt the Phantom Field of where they were sent had some kind of power limiter so no one would die. This was different though, this world was different. The others wouldn't survive in this world. Not when they were from one completely different. _

_"Indulgence of Insulation, the Insulator, you are able to rip EXS apart. You are a powerful weapon, who few are able to wield. Am I right?" Kokonoe spoke aloud, hoping the cloud would hear her. _

_"You are here because of Hyde Kido, your current wielder. He was able to summon you from the depths of the Hollow Night so you can fight once more." Kokonoe continued, as she did the cloud slowly took form. It took a humanoid shape, with an arm and hand like appendage grabbing the duplicate Insulator Nox Nyctores. The Nox Nyctores' black blade suddenly surged with a rich red glow. In a flash the weapons were gone. Kokonoe saw the black and red mass shoot out of the room, and down to where Relius no doubt was. She stood up and gave chase. Hoping this would work._

* * *

"The Insulator taking on a human form, emboding fragments of Hyde and Vatista's personalities, covered in a Seithr shell to contain his energy, and is Observed to keep him grounded in reality." Kokonoe said, adjusting her glasses.

"How is that even possible?" Linne breathed, the Insulator looked at them briefly.

"We can explain once we get my wielder out of here." The Insulator said, they pulled the Nox Nyctores into an offensive stance as Hazama and Relius got up from their positions.

"Well, that was quite the interruption. " Hazama said, brushing dust off his clothing.

"You're outnumbered, surrender peacefully." Weiss said tentatively, she understands that the two individuals were strong, but right now it seems like they have the upper hand. They just need to keep their guard up.

"Ho-oh, such authority from such a young girl. Don't you think you might be a bit out of place?" Hazama smirked, holding his fedora.

"Listen! We don't have time for your crap, either surrender or we'll make you!" Kanji yelled, clenching his fist. Hazama smirked before snapping his fingers. In a flash, a figure shot past him and Yukiko managed to pull Kanji away from a flying kunai.

"What the-?! Yosuke-senpai?!" Kanji called out as the auburn teen looked at him, his eyes still glowing green.

"I already explained it to your other compadres. Hana-chan is under my control. Now then, let's talk about the Insulator here." Hazama said with a smirk.

"I'm not going to let you, you've done enough damage as it is. Threat level high, enemies must be exterminated." Insulator said as they readied the sword. Their eyes widened and quickly jumped out of the way as swords stabbed into the ground where they once stood.

"Target sited, initiating combat mode. Threat level: high, destruction: negative, must secure target." Naoto said in a scarily robotic voice. The visor still hid her eyes and the swords returned to her sides.

"You are the 'Immortal Killer'. You've become a physical form. Now tell me, how was that possible?" Relius said as he stood up, with a wave of his hand Ignis got back into battle position, red energy flowing from her claws.

"The does not concern you, I'm amazed you bothered asking. I suspected you would have just restrained me and examined it personally." Insulator said, for the first time for Linne, it felt weird hearing Hyde's voice like that. It sounded, off, small reverberations came from Insulator's being, three or four different voices mixed into one as it spoke. It mostly sounded like Hyde, but she could hear others as well. Insulator held the Nox Nyctores and pointed it at Relius.

"Oh I will, I just wanted to see if you had anything to offer willingly. You wield that Nox Nyctores so easily, no doubt there's a strong mental strength within that being. Or are you the soul from the Nox Nyctores mixing with that of the Insulator? I guess we have no time to talk, Ignis!" Relius commanded, the robot shot forward, streams of energy flowing like ribbons. Insulator dodged the attack from Ignis, Kokonoe summoning an Ars shield in order to block any stray energy from hitting Linne and her group. Insulator jumped up, and swung the Nox Nyctores down, it's own Void Red energy flowing from the blade. The blast barely missed Ignis as it made a crater in the ground, Ignis jumped and shot at it with her claws, only for Insulator to slide it's Nox Nyctores between the claws and strike the hand. The two struggled for a little before Insulator moved more energy into the blade and sliced one of the claws clean off of Ignis' hand. The robot stumbled back as Insulator sent a weaker surge of energy, hitting it and sending it flying into the ground. Relius frowned as he and Hazama stood before them.

"Well this is an interesting development." Hazama said with a chuckle. Ouroboros ready in his palm. Ruby shrunk back, holding Hyde tighter, both Yuzuriha and Linne stiffened and got ready to fight.

"You are not laying a hand on my wielder." Insulator said, stepping between them. Hazama raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? You're protective of your wielder, yet you are not attacking us, is it because of the brutes fighting near us?" Hazama asked as he gestured to Kanji, Yukiko and Weiss dealing with Yosuke. Yu and Ragna went to hold back Naoto.

"It doesn't matter if I say yes or no. I recommend you retreat before I end you." Insulator said, his eyes darkening as the sword glowed.

"A blade this sharp doesn't need any EXS in order to end a life." Insulator said as his voice shifted a bit to a more mature voice.

"I would like to see that, you Immortal Killer!" Hazama said, ripping off the fedora, Terumi free once more, he shot forward with Ouroboros and Relius jumped up to follow. The chains flew down, snakeheads' jaws wide open, ready for a bite. Insulator jumped back and swung his weapon, blocking the chains, once Terumi was close enough, he kicked him in the stomach and sending him back. Relius jumped in a followed, a giant mechanical arm shooting from under his cloak, grabbing Insulator by his collar and Relius head bashed him in the forehead. Insulator stumbled back from the surprise, but quickly recovered and swung the sword down at Relius, slicing the mechanical arm in two. Terumi jumped back in and slashed at Insulator with his knives.

Ruby, Linne, Yuzuriha, and Kokonoe looked at the brawl before them. Yu and the others were trying to hold off the mind-controlled Yosuke and Naoto as they fought. Ruby wasn't sure what to do, seeing everything like this was terrifying. Insulator looked so much like Hyde and was fighting so hard, taking and exchanging blows with the two opponents. She realized how powerful the people of this world are, and how cruel they can be. She understands now why people like Kokonoe and Ragna use 'kill' so easily, so hatefully. They had their reasons, whatever they may be.

"Damn it!" Linne turned and saw Godeau barrel past them as he sliced several drones in half.

What the hell are these things?" Gordeau said as he took a breath. Another drone shot past, only to be knocked out of the sky by one of Kokonoe's wrenches. Blake pulled out her weapon, switching it to her pistol mode, and fired at the robots.

"Looks like we got our own trouble. Insulator looks like he can handle himself. Relius must've had some bots he's been working on here." Kokonoe glared at the drones as the machines flew in. She saw the Insulator fighting with Terumi and Relius.

"Alright, change of plans, Kajun, Blake, Gordeau, help me get rid of the pests. Ruby, remain here with Hyde. Linne, Yuzuriha, help the Insulator. I'm not taking chances." Kokonoe said, Linne and Yuzuriha nodded before leaving. She growled a bit before pulling out a thick, large disk, she pressed a button and it turned into a machine gun. Gordeau's jaw dropped as Kokonoe let it rip. The gun barrel glowing bright as bullets sprayed out and nailed the drones. Blake looked at her with a smile as she was reminded of a particular fashionista.

"Impressive, your skills with that sword are excellent." Relius smirked as he shot down at the Insulator. The personified sword grunted with frustration as they swung the Nox Nyctores at Relius and Hazama, a burst of energy following it.

Insulator dodged another strike from Ignis, the robot slashed at them with her still whole claw. Insulator blocked the claw with the sword and pushed it back, not enough to break it, but enough to shove the robot back. They jumped back as Terumi sent Ouroboros, the dark chains rattling as it moved. Insulator's eyes widened as Linne jumped past them and blocked the chains with her blades. Yuzuriha blocked Relius' attack that came at them from the left. The two girls landed beside Insulator and the three faced against Relius, Ignis, and Terumi.

"Are you alright?" Yuzuriha asked, Insulator looked at them briefly before sighing.

"I am fine." Insulator said as they got ready to attack.

"Fucking hell!" Ragna cursed as he blocked a barrage of swords. Naoto moved her hands and the blades returned to her. Damn it, she was just as annoying as Nu, however unlike Nu, he needed to make sure he didn't harm her too much. She was still semi-human, not a science experiment like Nu or Lambda.

"Keep steady!" Yu said, he summoned Izanagi again and sent a burst of electricity at Naoto. She dodged the attack and with a wave of her hand, her persona materialized. Shooting at Yu with a powerful wind attack, Izanagi dematerialized and he was forced back by the wind. He glanced at the persona and it's eyes were glowing an odd pink color. He couldn't see it for long as it dematerialized and Naoto shot at him. He used his katana to block the swords as they flew towards him. His sheath getting torn in the process. Ragna jumped past him and knocked away the blades. He slammed the sword into the ground and caused Naoto to stumble back. He quickly slashed at her with the blade, forcing her to block with her arms. He shoved her back.

"Now!" Yu saw the opening Ragna provided, thankfully he could summons Izanagi again. He summoned him and sent a wave of electricity at her.

This time he managed to land a hit, Naoto screamed as the electricity ran through her body, being conducted quickly through the metal in and around her body. Ragna grunted and ran up, grabbing her by her face, he slammed her into the ground. She gasped for air as she fell unconscious. The blows from the electricity and blunt force was enough to take her down.

"Get her to somewhere else for the time being." Ragna said, he ran to help Kokonoe and Gordeau fight the drones. Yu nodded and carried Naoto in a bridal hold. Grunting a bit at the sudden amount of weight she had.

Kanji grunted as Yosuke charged past him. Weiss summoned a glyph to launched herself and find a way to safely take out Yosuke. She landed behind him and switched her dust to ice, summoning another glyph, she stabbed the ground and large icicles formed around Yosuke like a cage. She stabbed the ground again and more icicles formed as Yosuke began to break them with his weapons.

Yang bounded from the area as the others had Yosuke under control, Yu was trying to find a place to safely put Naoto, so she ran to help Ruby, Kokonoe and the others. She charged at the drones and blasted through them, she landed besides Ruby and reloaded her weapons.

"Hey sis, you okay?" Yang asked, Ruby took a sigh of relief. Yang noticed how she held onto Hyde protectively. Her clothes were slightly worn and she saw something around Ruby's neck.

"So far, so good, just a lot. Are you okay?" Ruby asked, Yang looked a little worse than Ruby, with some cuts and bruises, but nothing major.

"Perfectly fine." Yang rushed in and began blasting the drones. A good amount of the drones were soon destroyed, until Ragna ended up flying past them.

"You fucking bastard!" Ragna yelled, Yang winced and immediately wanted to cover Ruby's ears despite being further away. She turned to see Ruby's eyes wide with fear, something she hardly saw Ruby with, her grip on Hyde seemed to have tightened as she cradled him closer to her. Yang turned her attention back to Ragna and saw the cause for Ruby's distress; Terumi. Ragna jumped forward as the green haired man attempted to strike at Ruby.

"We ain't letting a boy filled with that much energy run away Bloodedge! I don't care who gets in the way. Play nice little girl, we might spare your life." Terumi cackled, Ruby shrunk back again ad Yang leapt forward and sent a shotgun shell into Terumi's face, the same time one of Ragna's attacks connected with him as well. Terumi was flung back and onto his back. A hand moved and his fedora was replaced.

"Nice shot." Hazama was back, a sly smile in place of a sadistic one.

"Hand over Kido and no one gets hurt. It's not that hard." Hazama said, Yang growled a little at him.

"You are not laying a hand on my sister." Yang said, her voice hard and absolute. She stood besides Ragna and the two looked at Hazama.

"Sister? Oh this will bring back memories, won't it Raggy?" Hazama taunted, Ourorboros ready in his hands.

Yu ran to an exit and placed Naoto gently on the ground, leaning on the frame. Yu got a better look at her. Her body wasn't too different, encased in a skin tight suit and metal plating. Her eyes were hidden under the visor and metallic ribbons extended from her hair. But he also saw a tear track from her right eye, under the visor.

"Just rest here for now." Yu mumbled softly, he drew his sword again and looked over at how his team was fairinf against Yosuke. The ice cage Weiss attempted to make was shattered explosively as wind swirled around Yosuke's figure, the tall form of Jiraiya glowing behind Yosuke. The persona raised its hand and sent a strong gust of wind at the group, forcing them back and off balance.

What? He can summon his persona? Yosuke just got more dangerous, Yu charged forward.

"Izanagi!" Yu shouted, the persona surging into existence and sent a wave of electricity to counter Jiraiya's wind. As the two personas faded away, Yosuke launched himself at Yu and the kunai met the sheath. Yu looked at Yosuke's expressionless face again, something felt wrong, Yosuke should never be like that, emotionless, empty, that wasn't who he was. Yu jumped back, only for Yosuke to quickly close the gap and punched Yu in the gut. Yu felt air rush out of him as he waa flung back.

"Senpai! Alright that's enough, snap out of it!" Kanji shouted as he charged at Yosuke. The auburn teen quickly turned his body and evaded the attack, he turned and kicked Kanji near the stomach and forced him back before jumping away to increase distance. Yu got up as Weiss and Chie aided Kanji. He looked as they fought, was Yosuke always that strong? His moves looked natural, yet, more streamline and precise. He wasn't faltering with any of his attacks, He looked around and saw Blake and Yukiko dealing with drones, He grabbed his still sheathed katana despite the rips and went after Yosuke again.

Just hang in there partner. I'm breaking you out.

Linne hissed in pain as Ignis' Void Red energy slashed at her arms. Ignis launched at the smaller girl, only for Yuzuriha to jump and attack the robot with her own blade, a blow strong enough to knock the robot off balance. Insulator ran past them and attacked Relius directly. Their own energy flowing in a stream to attack the scientist. Relius jumped back, using a mechanical arm to propel himself.

"You know very well how to handle a blade. I am aware that Hyde Kido himself does not possess your level of skill. Where did it come from?" Relius said aloud as he continued to dodge the Insulator's attacks.

"None of that will matter once you're dead." Insulator said as their eyes glowed. Another burst of energy fired at Relius and the scientist was pushed back. Hazama came leaping back as well.

"Are you done yet? Raggy and his friends are being quite annoying." Hazama said.

"Now you're both in one place. " Insulator said, their blade glowed as energy swirled around it, Linne recognized the energy.

"GYRE" Ins's skin started to gain inky black and deep red marks, swirling and traveling up their arms and face.

"Everyone! Get to cover!" Linne yelled, Kanji grabbed Yu as Yosuke shot past him, landing near Hazama. The other ducked behind crates and beams. The energy creating a strong wind.

"VORTEX!" Insulator yelled and they swung the blade down. A massive half moon shaped wave of Void Red energy flooded the room and shot towards Relius and his partners. A figure appeared and the blast exploded all across the room. An explosion blowing a hole in the wall behind them, the landscape of outside appearing. Linne opened her eyes to see a feminine figure, with long purple hair and wearing a short kimono with dark purple detached sleeves. Her eyes were an empty red. Her hand was up as a skeletal shield formed over Relius and Hazama faded away.

"Your Majesty, I was not expecting to see you here." Hazama chuckled.

"This is no time for jokes Terumi. Relius said he was running an experiment that would very beneficial, so I wanted to see it for myself." The woman said with an empty tone. Ragna scowled from his place near Yang and Ruby.

" Saya... " Ragna growled, his eyes full of murderous intent even Yang was intimidated from it.

"Also Clover, please keep a closer eye on your toys. " the woman snapped her fingers, her form flashed briefly before Naoto's form fell crumpled behind her.

"Naoto!" Yu and Kanji both yelled.

"Who the hell are you?!" Kanji yelled, the woman stared at him blankly.

"Oh? Has Mercury not informed you? Standing before you is the Imperator and current Emperor of the NOL. " Hazama said.

"Imperator?" Yu breathed. Linne told them about the power of the Insulator, to block an attack like that so seamlessly, just how powerful was she?

"Enough, Insulator was it? You have the power that could well grant my wishes, join us, and you will be compensated." Imperator said, the Insulator glared at her and raised his weapon again.

"I won't help your goals immortal. Your existence is not needed on this plane." Insulator said.

"You wish to kill me? You can destroy my body, but I will still be alive. I am Death." Imperator said, her tone getting more and more threatening. The two beings stared at each other, the aura they were emitting was powerful.

"Hey! Don't ignore us damn it! We'll beat you into the-" Kanji couldn't finish his sentence as his breath shortened, he was forced to the ground with all the others. Another figure landed besides Imperator, a unidentifiable figure covered in a large purple witch hat and purple cloak.

"Oh? Phantom is here too? The whole gang is here." Hazama chuckled.

"Damn it, Saya..." Ragna groaned from the gravity pressure.

"What the- Gravity?" Kokonoe groaned, that power, the only user of that magic was her mother, at least of who she is aware of. Is someone as powerful as Konoe exist and is on the Imperator's side?

Ruby groaned as she was further forced down, luckily, she didn't loosen her grip on Hyde and he seemed to be unaffected by the spell. Insulator still stood, energy flowing around them like some sort of shield.

"How about you Ragna? Your dear sister misses you so much. Why not reunite with her?" Imperator's voice changed to that of a girl's, a little soft and young. That caught Yang's attention, Ragna had a sister? The Imperator had something to do with it. No doubt, but what? What happened to Ragna's sister?

"Enough!" Insulator sent another wave of energy, disabling the spell due to knocking Phantom off balance. Another explosion occured and the massive hole in the wall/mountain side just grew. The skeletal shield Imperator summoned vanished and the empress glared at the Insulator.

"This is too much trouble. We'll settle this another time, my offer still stands." Imperator said, eith a wave of her hand everyone behind her flickered away, including Naoto and Yosuke. Insulator sent another blast of energy, only for their forms to flicker away as the attack phased through them.

"Damn it." Insulator cursed as they took a breath. The markings now fading away and returned to a more human appearance.

"What was?" Blake breathed, Kokonoe stood up first.

"That was a complete disaster, we need to recuperate and regroup. We need to leave, no doubt NOL troops will swarm the place in minutes. We're heading back to the docks." Kokonoe said.

"But-"

"No time! We need to leave! Go!" Kokonoe said as they fled the lab through the massive hole and ran through the woods. Sound of NOL troops marching towards the lab.

Ruby ran as she held onto Hyde, they managed to get him back at least. She glanced at Yu, noticing his sad look. They couldn't save his friends. Ruby shook her head, they may have another chance.

Yu looked behind himself briefly at the lab growing more and more smaller and obscure as the forest trees covered it. They couldn't get them back, but it wasn't a loss, Yosuke warned them, Naoto was crying. They were still in there, they were still fighting against their control. Don't lose hope, Yu smiled a little to himself. Our bonds are stronger. Just hang in a little longer.

* * *

Kagura Mutsuki's loyal secretary; Hibiki Kohaku let out a sigh as he finished filing some papers he managed to get Kagura to do. He was aware of Kokonoe's matters and what might happen if her mission failed. He tucked away the papers and began walking towards his quarters, as he passed a window though, he saw a figure's shadow among the branches in one of the trees. He stopped and narrowed his eyes, the figure dashed away, causing the branches and leaves to shake.

Hibiki grabbed his blades and opened the window, once he safely locked it he went to where the figure dashed off to. Hiding his presence, he saw a boy no older than 16. His hair was black with a streak of white, wearing a dark colored jacket, shoes, and pants. In his hands were a pair of daggers, the blades glowing with white and blue energy. That boy was no doubt an assassin or hidden killer of some sort, who was his target?

Hibiki jumped into one of the trees and tiptoed his way to prevent movement. Once he was above the boy, who seemed to be observing his ground view, he jumped down and tackled him. Sending a strong kick into the boy's back, causing him to drop his daggers. Hibiki moved quickly and grabbed the daggers with one hand. Sliding further away, the boy was weaponless.

"An assassin should be more observant, besides ground level." Hibiki said calmly as he held the daggers, they seemed to have a strange energy pulse from them. The boy got up and glared at the man.

"State your name, and I might let you live." Hibiki said, he needed to know who this boy was so he could figure out who sent him. The boy glared, his eyes quickly darted briefly, but sighed. He wasn't going to escape this.

"Seth"

* * *

**HOLY CRAP, I am so sorry for not updating. I barely had time to write, with school ending soon, my mind has been preoccupied. Annd during the time I can write, I'm usually brain dead. I can't say when the next one will be up, hopefully sooner than this one since vacation will soon be upon us. **

**So, yeah, a lot of stuff happened this chapter, Insulator will be a character for a good amount of time. Naoto and Yosuke are still mind controlled, and yeah... **

**Also, Seth is part of the crew. I'm gonna try and explain why he got sent there, but it'll be interesting for him to be in this world. And Hibiki is my Blazblue best boy so he's going to make appearances when he can. Let me know what you think like always and I'll see you next time. **

**Bye~ **


	12. Chapter 12: Under Shadow Moon

Chapter 12: Under Shadow Moon

Seth didn't know what to think when he first landed in this strange world. Everything looked different, not to mention it seemed to be crawling with military like soldiers. The last thing he remembered was scouting out the city for any voids and possibly Linne and Hyde. However, as he was traversing one of the alleyways, he blacked out and found himself in the woods. A forest he wasn't familiar with in Kanzakai. As he navigated the forest, he found what seemed to be a mountain city. With different levels and skyships docking at different locations, the entire thing was lit up like a blazing torch in the night. As much as he would prefer to stay in the shadows, he knew he had to obtain information about this place if he wanted to return to Kanzakai. After sneaking into the city, he was able to get a name.

He was in the "6th Hierarchical City of Yabiko" wherever that was. He knew for a fact he was not in Kanzakai anymore, heck he's aware he's not in his original _world_ anymore. There were no traces of Voids, EXS, or even In-Births from what he could tell, despite how crowded the place was. Seth shook his head, no matter, he could gather info and figure out a way to get back. As he continued to slink around the city night after night, it also became evident that this world wasn't in the same time as Kanzakai. This must've been the place where the being "Hakumen" resided, and not only that, but also the world where the wanted criminal "Ragna" resided, based on the wanted posters scattering the alley walls, similar to the one Orie had back in the Phantom Field. He continued to scout the city, occasionally taking out a few military guards to gather any data they had on them. The world seemed peaceful at least, with this Yabiko city apparently being a popular tourist city in this world. The large buildings, dim lights, and shadows were the perfect environments for an assassin like him. To always hide away in the dark until he gets an opening. As the days went on, he learned more about this world, it's situation, and its powers. Seithr ran through this world like blood, it was used, weaponized, and experimented.

After a bit of time, that is when he saw them, Linne was accompanied by the red giant Tager, and Yuzuriha. Earlier he saw Gordeau as well, once they met up, they left for somewhere. He followed them to a lab like area he quickly lost. No windows and a locked hidden door. He could not hear them anymore. So, he scouted out above the hidden lab and the massive building it was under. However, he was able to get information when he was tailing them.

Hyde was kidnapped by the green haired man, Hazama, who was in the Phantom Field, if Hyde was captured, no doubt the Insulator was taken as well. Gordeau said that he was taken most likely to have his powers be the subject of experimentation like Seithr is. To use the power of Void Red for whatever purpose the NOL needs it for. The military force may try to paint itself like it is the guardian of this world, when in reality, it's the bane that threaten the harmony and balance. Many of this world's inhabitants also realized this, a reason for why people in this city dislike the military trying to keep 'order'. It's more evident when he learned that whoever betrayed the military is executed on the spot. The disaster that destroyed this world made it easy for something like the NOL to rise to power and become it's rulers. Hyde was taken to another Hierarchical City, but he had no idea on his specific location. Trying to get there and explore the whole city plus it's underground would take weeks if not months. Seth was still stuck in Yabiko when the rescue operation started.

Now in present time, Seth scouted around the building where the lab was hidden under. It was night and he saw one of workers walk past the windows. Who he learned to be the secretary of what seemed to be the leader of this building and a bit of authority over the city. However, as he was watching from the treetops the secretary turned his head to look out the window, and stared directly at where Seth was hiding. This wasn't good, Seth immediately used the trees and dashed away from the building. He took a small breath as he left the treetop in order to observe the rest of his surroundings, to see if there was another place. He knows the trees don't go much farther than here and if he tried to remain in the trees, he will be open to other attackers further out.

However, before he could make a decision, something hard hit him in the back, causing him to fall and be forced to the ground by his assailant. His daggers were quickly snatched away, and the figure got off him.

"An assassin should be more observant, besides ground level." The figure said, Seth turned to see the secretary holding his daggers, and had another blade held offensively. His eyes were cold, and Seth realized he was dealing with another assassin, one of this world.

"State your name, and I might let you live." The figure said, Seth glanced at his surroundings, he could maybe escape the figure, but he needed the Eliminators if he wanted to have a good chance at taking the Insulator from Hyde later. Not to mention this assassin seemed to be quite experienced. He didn't seem like he was going to kill him yet. Seth took a breath and sighed.

"Seth" the figure lowered their blade and tucked the daggers into their coat.

"My name is Hibiki, you have demonstrated suspicious actions right now. So, unless you want to end up in prison, I recommend you come with me quietly." The man said, Seth clenched his fists, but agreed. After all, if he gets close enough, he might be able to catch the man off guard. But his original mission was to obtain information, and complying will only get him information, or at the very least some questions to ask. Seth nodded and walked toward Hibiki. Hibiki nodded in the direction of the building and the two walked in silence.

* * *

Kagura sighed as he plopped into his office chair, he was gone for a few minutes to help Tager and the other worldly beings they were housing in Kokonoe's lab. Still, even if Kokonoe's taking control of the situation, it still leaves him uneasy at how dangerous Hyde's energy is. If his energy were reminiscent of the Black Beast, what would happen if that power was abused and went out of control? Not to mention all the crazy crap Ragna and Tager talked about is all true, not to mention Azreal was also loose in there. He was told that Kokonoe was being hunted by the Mad Dog and the search for the Lynchpin was still underway. So much shit was happening very quickly. He sat up again as his door creaked open, most likely it was Hibiki, no doubt he was going scold him again for being lazy.

Hibiki walked in, like he predicted, but with him, was a younger boy. He was dressed in black, no doubt still a teen, his hair was dark with a white streak, and his eyes were a cold emptiness Hibiki would have from time to time.

"Who is this? One of your disciples?" Kagura asked, Hibiki sighed as he gestured to the boy.

"No. I found him sneaking around outside, he had these on him." Hibiki said as he showed Kagura the Annihilators.

"Now then, Seth was it? I am aware you are an assassin of sorts, so who hired you and who is your target?" Hibiki asked as he turned to face the teen. Seth narrowed his eyes, but was also a little confused. Sure, other In-births who knew of him, knows he's an assassin like attacker, but he never was hired to take anyone out, he isn't some mercenary.

"Calm your worries, I am not here on anyone's orders. I am not aware of how I came here, I am simply searching for information." Seth said, Kagura raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, so you're from a different world then? Oh, I know your name now, that Yuzuriha girl mentioned. Seth, the stealthy, ninja like In-birth that seemed like Hyde's rival." Kagura said, snapping his fingers. Seth raised an eyebrow as he looked at Kagura. Besides the man's description of him, he seemed very laid-back, he had a bit of a more serious tone prior to knowing Seth's identity, but now he seems to have let all guards down. Hibiki sighed.

"Lord Kagura, please be more alert, did you finish your paperwork? Did they contact you on the progress of the mission?" Hibiki asked with a sigh, Seth looked intrigued by the man, someone so composed and serious working under someone who seemed laid back most of the time, and based on the pile of paperwork on the desk behind Kagura, he was lazy to boot.

"Well, the paperwork, is erm, in progress. Kokonoe did call, they needed to abort the mission, Hyde Kido was rescued, but Narukami's friends, Hanamura and Shirogane are still under the NOL's control. According to what she told me, Shirogane was fused with machine under Relius Clover's control, and Hanamura is under a mind control spell from Hazama. She said she'd explain things in more detail once they came back." Kagura said.

"If I may ask, what did they want with Hyde Kido?" Seth asked, he was aware of the kidnapping and then the rescue operation, but nothing more. Both Hibiki and Kagura looked grim briefly.

"According to Kokonoe, Relius and Hazama must've taken Hyde specifically to study his In-Birth energy. As she was doing some research herself. It turns out his specific energy is oddly similar to that of a Black Beast, a creature that nearly destroyed our world decades ago. Kokonoe believes that they may try to harvest his energy. Considering who they are, Hyde Kido wouldn't survive the process." Kagura said, getting oddly serious considering his tone merely moments earlier.

"Now then, we told you our half of the situation, care to tell us yours?" Hibiki asked, Seth looked at him, blue eyes looking into glowing yellow. For some reason Seth felt tense, he always prided himself with his skills, for understanding the power he has, to keep a calm demeanor and not let silly interruptions affect his missions. Yet, Hibiki's eyes held a cool neutral look that seemed very similar to his own, he was composed, but he also could feel, caution and hostility. It seems like Hibiki can act cool, neutral, and unnoticeable but can spring into action at any point and take down enemies with quick efficiency.

"I already said I don't know, I've been in this city for roughly two months now. All I've been doing is gathering information on where I am. So you don't have to give me a history lesson." Seth said, Hibiki looked at him curiously, but nodded with slight relief regardless. Only for Hibiki's communicator to ring, the assassin secretary answered it, his look turning to one of surprise lightly.

"Understood." Hibiki said simply before turning to Kagura.

"They're back, currently doing some patch up and review in the lab. I'll handle things here Lord Kagura, also, take Seth with you to them, he'll get more information and prove information useful to them then to us at this current moment." Hibiki said, Seth nodded as Kagura practically glowed once he got that permission. Before he sped off though, Hibiki raised his hands, and handed back the Eliminators to Seth.

"We can see you as an ally for now, however, if you betray us, you will not last in this world. Understood?" Seth looked to see a cold, empty look in Hibiki's calm eyes.

"Hibiki! Stop scaring the kid, we'll be off." Kagura said, ever to lightly, speaking in a scolding tone, but playful. HIbiki just sighed before moving to Kagura's still full desk of papers.

"Alrighty then! Seth lets go!" Kagura ran out of the office, all the while grabbing Seth's wrist and dragging him along.

Elsewhere….

Kagura dragged Seth down a set of stairs down to a basement level. While he didn't appreciate being dragged like a rag doll, they were getting there a lot quicker if he didn't resist.

"Hey! Kokonoe!" Kagura called as he and Seth burst into the lab. The first thing Seth noticed was Hyde, but he had, red hair? Last time they met, he was blonde. His expression was definitely more serious looking and neutral. A large item wrapped in cloth was on his back. He was talking with Kokonoe and Linne, while Kajun and Yukiko tended to some wounds on the others.

"Glad to see you again Kagura." Kokonoe said, crossing her arms. Seth looked at her as her twin cat tails swished lazily.

"So is this Hyde? You look so much better than I thought you would." Kagura said, Hyde simply looked at him blankly before shaking his head.

"No, I'm not Hyde, Hyde Kido is in a vegetative state over there. Relius Clover's experiments left a toll on his body, I am simply an improvised by product of those experiments." Hyde said, pointing to one of the rooms located further away. Seth instinctively took steps back, what? How was something like that even possible?

Kagura stepped past him to look at where he was pointing, he let out a long low whistle.

"Geez, he looks like a zombie. Is he gonna be alright?" Kagura asked, the not Hyde didn't make any physical movements.

"So far, yes. He's suffering from malnutrition and purposely put into a comatose state. They were draining his energy to experiment on." Kokonoe said, taking another lick of a blue lollipop.

"Then, who're, erm, _what_, are you?" Kagura asked, gesturing to the red haired Hyde.

"I am a personification of his weapon, Insulator. Another name for me is an Immortal Killer. According to what I was told, and what I found, Relius was trying to copy my make-up to create what this world calls a Nox Nyctores." Seth narrowed his eyes as the two met.

"You are the personification of the Insulator? Yet you take on the form of Hyde Kido? He couldn't wield that power without passing out. I don't see why you would assume his form." Seth said, the Insulator narrowed his own eyes into a glare.

"He has potential, and determination. While his power is restless, he isn't weak, by no means. I know who you are, Seth, the wielder of my relatives the Eliminators. You claim that you could wield me without much trouble. I'm afraid that issue is entirely separate. Come with me." Insulator said, gesturing to the training grounds. Seth looked hesitant before following the red haired clone of his rival to out back. He walked past the others and Yuzuriha waved at him.

This was strange, despite all the oddities that the whole Phantom Field, Night, and In-Births, seeing the weapon he needed to end Linne's curse as a walking, talking, being. The two stopped in the training area, the Insulator walking to one end as Seth stood on the other. The Insulator placed down the cloth wrapped item on its back before grabbing a plain katana in one of the training bins.

"Fight me right now, feel free to use my relatives. I want to see how you use them." Insulator said, raising the sword.

Seth took out the Eliminators, the ones entrusted to him. The energy coming off of Insulator was one very different then Hyde's. He didn't think it was possible to seeing Hyde emit just hostile, strong energy. It was like that of a warrior, a warrior ready to fight to the death in an important battle. He was asked to show his worth to the personification of the weapon that can slay immortals. He cannot back down now.

"Very well, I will show you the full potential of your brethren." Seth said, the Insulator narrowed its eyes as it held the sword with focus. The two analyzed each other, before making a move.

Seth jumped to the side to grab the ledges, once he gained height, he jumped from the air and swung the Eliminators down at Insulator, who remained stationary for his whole movement. Once Seth flew down to strike, the Insulator moved the sword at inhuman speeds to block the blue blades. Seth was momentarily shocked at how his attack was stopped, before the sword moved and flung Seth back to his starting position. Seth skidded to a stop before trying a more direct approach. Insulator still refused to leave his position. He ran forward and held his daggers in a stabbing form, the katana moved again as it parried the blades, leaving them at a standstill. Seth was momentarily confused why the katana wasn't breaking. A normal weapon facing off against a set of Indulgence Weapons. That was until he saw streams of red EXS flowing through the blade, the palm of Insulator holding the blade also glowing red. Seth jumped back before moving to the side to attack again, he ran forward and as Insulator made a movement to swing the katana to block, Seth quickly ducked and slid under the blade. He made a small dark blue orb in his hands as he tried to hit Insulator.

Insulator quickly reacted to this move and jumped up before Seth could hit him. Seth turned as the form vanished before him, they jumped back and ran forward, going on the offensive. The katana blade swung down as Seth barely dodged the attack. Another barrage of the katana shot at him as Seth parried and dodged the blade to the best of his abilities. He needed to gain higher ground. Before he could jump, the katana blade swung forward and hit the Eliminators in his hands.

"My win." Seth was forced back as the Insulator closed the distance. Seth raised the daggers up to block the attack, the katana clanging loudly against the blades. A swift movement knocked the daggers out of Seth's hands. Seth glanced into Insulator's eyes, seeing the dark purple glow brightly. Seth froze momentarily as he looked into the purple orbs, even if it was for a split second, the katana's blunt end hit Seth in the stomach, sending him down. He looked up to see the blade pointing at him.

"That's the end of it for now. I am impressed though. However, I'm afraid you haven't unlocked their potential just yet." Insulator said as he drew back the blade. He tossed it back into the bin as he swung the cloth cover item back over himself. Seth got up and grabbed the Eliminators again, before glancing at the living weapon.

"Sweet moves… you know, both of you would be very valuable subordinates in my team. Ragna is still on the fence, but how about you two?" The duo turned to see Kagura, who was leaning on the wall near the entranceway. As he finished speaking another voice echoed from inside.

"No! Means no, Kagura!" Kagura simply chuckled at the statement.

"Kind offer, but my powers are only meant for Hyde Kido to use at the moment, considering he is incapacitated at the moment, I am going to carry his will. I decline." Insulator said calmly, Seth was still weirded out by how differently the weapon was acting compared to the person he was imitating.

"I'm afraid to decline as well. I already have a job, and I am going to see it through." Seth said as he put away the Eliminators. Kokonoe popped her head out from the doorway.

"Boys! Get inside, we need to discuss." Kokonoe called, the three followed her in.

Seth turned to see Yuzuriha, Linne, and that red cape wearing girl Hyde ran into in the Phantom Field, Ruby. They were all near the bed that Hyde was currently resting on, a few machines to monitor his health attached to him. He looked like he was in a coma, for some reason, that didn't sit well with him. Seth looked around the room some more to see Kagura standing near Ragna. The two groups of teens forming the Investigation team and RWBY. Kokonoe went to her large monitor and stood near Tager.

"Alright, to review the current information and situation right now. We managed to retrieve Hyde Kido from the NOL, however both Naoto Shirogane and Yosuke Hanamura are still their hostages. Based on what we observed, Naoto Shirogane has been augmented into a cyborg like being currently being controlled by Relius. She is modeled and fights like the Murakumo Units such as Nu-13, Mu-12, and Lambda-11. Along with how she fights, according to Kajun, Kanji, and Yukiko, she is believed to become a Detonator like Ignis. Relius was planning on fusing the Nox Nyctores he created from the Insulator and Hyde Kido's EXS energy with Naoto. We still don't know what he plans on doing with her, but we have some information about what she can do. In regards to Yosuke Hanamura, nothing concerning appeared, I have a good feeling Terumi is just going to use him as a subordinate since he's under the effects of the spell Mind Eater: Forced Restraint. Nine had that spell listed in one of her books, only the person who cast the spell can control and release the person. However, according to Yu, Chie, and Blake, Hazama said the spell was courtesy of Phantom, but he was the one giving orders, our best hope is that Yosuke is under a different mind control spell. Now then, that's my brief, you may take over Kagura." Kokonoe said, gesturing to the man. Kagura smiled as he walked up.

"Alrighty then, to make things quick, my goal is to take over the NOL and release it from the Imperator's control. We have a plan, something known as Kushinada's Lynchpin, a weapon that can stop the flow of ether completely for a short timespan. This will stop the NOL in their tracks considering how much emphasis is based on ether manipulation. Heck, doing so could save your friends. However, we have the means to activate it, we still need to retrieve it. Kokonoe and Ragna agreed to help, so I request that you kids think about it. Obviously you don't have to join our fight if you don't want to. It's our world, and our problems, see ya." Kagura said simply before getting up and leaving the room. Only for Kokonoe to grab him by the collar and drag him back.

"Not yet, we still need to assess our biggest threat, Azrael." Kokonoe said, Kanji looked up while Weiss and Ragna groaned.

"Azrael? You mean the big shirtless dude?" Kanji asked.

"Yes, just for your information, he's not just some shirtless mass of muscle. He's by far one of the most dangerous beings in this world. He even put a limiter on himself so he doesn't one shot any opponents. He's known as the Mad Dog. The bastard doesn't seem human. He's responsible for the death of over a dozen fully armed NOL guards with ether suppressors none of them survived. Azrael." Kokonoe explained, Insulator turned to think for a bit.

"That explains why even something as powerful as the SYSTEM couldn't keep him under control." Insulator said.

"What? What do you mean?" Weiss asked, Stan up, she faced against Azrael in the Phantom Field when he refused to leave her alone.

"Beings in the Phantom world could only fight in a two on two tag team battle. Yet your battle with Azrael was the exception, I am able to retain certain memories from Hyde, and from what I can recall, the SYSTEM begged Hyde to help stop Azrael, not to mention Carmine showed up and an actual two on two fight could occur. The SYSTEM stated specifically that she couldn't control Azrael. That explains why you and Azrael had a one on one fight before our intervention. Even in a place where SYSTEM was a god, even she couldn't hold Azrael back. Not to mention she must've put some balancing powering in that world. Now that we're in Azrael's original world, his power will be extremely stronger. He was able to take hits from me with little difficulty. He's even stronger than any Void that we fought in our original world either." Insulator explained.

"We have a plan for that, and that's why Ragna is needed here." Kagura said with a smirk. Ragna sighed as attention was focused on him now.

"Basically since I'm a wanted criminal, and extremely dangerous according to the NOL, I'm going to be bait to draw our Azrael." Ragna said, Kokonoe jumped in.

"In a few weeks or more, Kagura Mutsuki will announce that the infamous and dangerous criminal Ragna the Bloodedge has been arrested and captured. Then he will hold a tournament to see who will quote "be the one to execute him". This should draw Azrael to us considering all he cares about is a fight. He's also been sent to kill me, which I will be present at the tournament as well, with a fight and his target in one area, Azrael will no doubt show up." Kokonoe said, Kagura smiled again as he continued.

"Which by then we should have the Lynchpin. Then we can use it during the tournament to take Azrael down and proceed with the rest of NOL." Kagura explained.

"Like I said, you can leave the rest to us once we get your friends back. This isn't your fight anyway." Kagura said, he looked at Kokonoe, who sighed before doing a waving motion with her hands. Kagura took the signal and beelined out of the room. Seth turned to look at the real Hyde's comatose form lying in the bed.

"He'll wake up at some point, he's been like this for roughly two months. He just needs rest." Insulator said, before Seth could speak, Ruby got up from her position.

"Hey, Insulator right? That really isn't a name for a person, y'know? How about a different name, maybe Sol? You know like In_sul_ator?" Ruby asked with a slightly quiet voice. Insulator merely raised an eyebrow.

"Call me what you will." Insulator said, Blake looked up from her book.

"How about Jekyll? There's a book about a person with two souls, one of which is named Hyde while the other is Jekyll." Blake said, Insulator sighed as he tapped the cloth covered weapon on his back.

"Again, it doesn't matter, if that's what you chose, then I'll be sure to respond to them during a fight." Insulator said, Seth noticed a girl with black hair in a red cardigan walk up.

"Um, I'm kinda partial to Jekyll actually, it's one of my favorite stories too. So, Jekyll-san, do you have any memories of your previous wielders?" Yukiko asked, Seth turned to the Insulator as well, that was something he didn't consider until now.

"Anything besides Hyde's memories are blurry, except for skills on knowing how to use me as a katana. Hyde wasn't the first to use me as such." Insulator said.

* * *

Footsteps echoed on the solid floor as Litchi Faye-Ling walked across. Her black haired tied up nearly in a bun by a pair of red chopsticks, her red Chinese styled clothing under a white labcoat. She walked until she reach a heavy metal door, inputting a code and walked inside.

"Ah, Dr. Faye Ling, what a surprise." Litchi grimaced a little as she turned to see Hazama, with a young man? She saw a messy head of light maple brown hair, clad in the black NOL intelligence uniform. His eyes looked off, almost tired, but he stood loyally by Hazama's side.

"Is there something you need Captain Hazama? Who is that with you?" Litchi asked as she gazed at the young man. Hazama merely chuckled.

"Oh, where do I begin? You are still looking for ways to reform Arakune from his monstrous form right? We have an idea. As for him, well, he's my new 'partner' you could say." Hazama said, Litchi continued to gaze at the young man, something was wrong. For some reason, she felt like he shouldn't be so quiet. Before she could speak again, Relius walked in, with a blue haired girl clad white by his side.

"Litchi, there is a task I have for you." Relius said, Litchi straightened up before looking at him.

"First please, Hazama told me you may have a way to restore Lotte, please tell me what it is." Litchi said, Relius smiled under his mask.

"Very well, come here." Relius said, he walked to a monitor and Litchi followed. He pulled up a display, showing a broken glass tube with a sword glowing inside a cloud of red and black energy. The energy swirled angrily before shooting out of the room, then in another, she saw Relius standing in a wrecked room, before the cloud landed in front, and the form of a young boy wielding a black katana emerged. Relius stopped the clip there.

"We discovered a new energy, something known as EXS, as you saw, by having concentrations of it, can allowing things to take a physical human form. That's not all, Omicron." Relius gestured to the blue haired woman, who waved her hand before speaking.

"Persona." A wave of light engulfed the room for a second and when Litchi looked a small butterfly humanoid figure clad in a metal appeared, flapping it's wings. The woman waved her hand again before it vanished. Relius smiled more.

"This is something known as a Persona, a physical manifestation of a person's soul. I need you to research both that persona and the EXS energy. We had a break in at the lab studying it and only a bit of EXS energy remains. So I would like you to examine and study it. Are you up to the task?" Relius asked.

"If I can use it to cure Lotte, then I will." Litchi said, Relius smiled.

"Then I'll leave you to it, Omicron, stay with her." Relius said, the blue haired woman now known as Omicron bowed lightly. Litchi turned to Relius before he and Hazama left.

"Wait! Just where, did you find this energy? How did you gather it?" Litchi asked, if she could get more energy, then it would increase her chances for research, and finding a cure. Hazama smiled as well.

"That's our little secret for now Dr. Faye Ling. Once you did your part, then we'll take you to our source." Hazama said, the two superiors leaving the scientist in her lab, with a stoic blue haired woman as company.

"Alright then, Omicron, summon this 'Persona' of yours again. It's time to begin research."

Hazama chuckled as he walked beside Yosuke and Relius.

"I'm impressed with your editing skills, keeping our little intruders hidden from view." Hazama said, Relius nodded as he continued to walk.

"It's best if she remains ignorant of that, it might cloud her mind and will dampen her results. Now then, let's move on with our duties while searching for Lynchpin. We have a lot of work to do." Relius said, Hazama nodded with a smile.

"We do indeed, Hana-chan dear, follow me, we have some prey to hunt." Hazama said, Yosuke's dulled out greenish eyes gazed at him lazily as he followed his superior.

* * *

**Holy heck? Why was I gone for half a year? Sorry about the long wait everyone! New fandoms have been kinda eating up my time, such as PADX, My Next Life as a Villainess (it's hilarious), and Pokemon :/ **

**I'm sorry but my drive for this story has kinda been sparked up again, however updates will still be uncertain. Hope you guys have a wonderful day and I'll see you in the next chapter, whenever that may be… **

**ALSO! The RWBY and Persona gangs will gain more focus next chapter along with some inner workings with Litchi's time in the NOL. So I hope you guys enjoy that, also, let me know which name you prefer for Insulator either "Sol" such as InSULator, or as "Jekyll" considering "Jekyll and Hyde", let me know, or I'll pick one at random. Have a good day and I see you next time. **

**Bye~ **


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